Love is Pain
by fukuji mihoko
Summary: Lambdadelta isn't very good at getting her feelings across to her beloved Bern- and it was really mean and hurtful when Bern tried to bite off her tongue like that! With some help from Furfur, can Lambda win Bern's heart? :BernLambda, for TheDrawingOtaku:
1. Part o1

**Love ****is ****Pain  
><strong>Part One

* * *

><p>The white-washed bedroom was strewn with boiled candies in colorful wrappers and pink polka-dot pillows. Some of those pillows had been shredded down the middle, releasing multitudes of feathers across the floor and bed. The few unwrapped candies, most of them wet with saliva and peppered with teeth marks, were stuck to the feathers like some kind of strange arts and crafts project made by a five year old. Plates of chocolate cake and half-eaten sweet foods were mixed amongst this haphazard clutter of mess along with stray forks and crumbs and bits of broken teacup.<p>

In short, it was a person with OCD's worst nightmare. Merely trying to describe the scene of chaos leaves the reader with something akin to a patchwork jumble, so imagine how it must have looked in real life.

If you're anything at all like the Stake of Sloth, Belphegor, you surely would have fainted in horror at such a cluttered, disorganized, disgusting spectacle.

But there was another, far more interesting 'spectacle' occurring in that room, not occurring on the floor but on the bed. It was happening between two people.

Then again… the use of the word 'people' is debateable in this case. Were witches 'human'? They would tell you adamantly they weren't, of course they weren't, a thousand times over. Witches are very prideful, you see, and don't like being compared to the mundane.

They don't hold humans in very high esteem.

If you had seen these two people in a crowd, however, you would instantly have assumed they were just ordinary little girls. And who knew? Maybe, despite their airs and graces, they weren't all that different from humans after all.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves here.

The witch with blonde hair who looked like pink anthropomorphic representation of Halloween, trick-or-treat candy in her hair and a pumpkin on her dress, was Lambdadelta, the Witch of Certainty.

The girl with blue hair and emotionless eyes was Bernkastel, the self-proclaimed cruellest witch in existence. Whether she was or not is up for debate. Lambda preferred to call her 'my lovely Bern' or 'the most _adorable_ witch, like, ever!' much to Bernkastel's passive-aggressive minor annoyance.

It couldn't be denied Bernkastel was cute, though.

At least, on the outside.

At that moment in time, Lambdadelta was wailing indistinctly, and it went something like this; "Uwahhhh! It's so unfair! I hate the witches at the senate- hate, hate, hate! They're all such meanies! Why don't they drop down and die with bits of boiled candy shoved so far down their throats they bleed from the mouth? Why, why, why? Uwaaaaaah!"

Bernkastel sighed.

Well, actually, no she didn't. A sigh would have displayed too much emotion, and displaying her feelings took too much effort. Bernkastel didn't want to waste that effort on a person like Lambdadelta.

She didn't deserve it.

Whilst Bernkastel only displayed the minimal amount of emotion required so people didn't believe she was dead, the emotions Lambdadelta showed were all crude caricatures; incredibly over the top. A lot of the time, it felt like her reactions were built on lies purely to irritate or annoy or get attention.

Despite her crocodile tears, Lambdadelta wasn't really upset- of course she wasn't. She just wanted an excuse for Bern to give her a cuddle.

Lambda was a like a young child. She pretended to be upset so she could get sympathy from others, and liked throwing temper tantrums so she could have her own way. She was just as immature as Asmodeus or Beelzebub- but at least they had an excuse to act childishly, given they really were young kids.

Lambdadelta's reasoning behind her behaviour was as thus. She looked like a child, so it made sense she should act like one too, yes? Didn't that make her cuu~uute?~

No.

Bernkastel knew Lambdadelta too well to think of her as being 'cute'. Instead, she thought Lambdadelta was manipulative, twisted, cruel, and untruthful. They both disliked each other, really- and they were both right to do so, as well. It was a wonder they spent any time together at all.

Lambdadelta liked to explain it as, "Well, the maniacal love company, right?"

Bernkastel would always correct, face dour and eyes empty, "Actually, the saying is _misery_ loves company."

"Fufufu~ Well, that applies to both of us as well, doesn't it?"

And Bernkastel never replied to that, because she simply didn't know what to say.

She didn't want to share her deepest thoughts or feelings with Lambdadelta; not now, not ever, not even the sky rained spears down upon her head.

Maybe she would have been more open with Lambda if Lambda was more open with her in return. However, that was like saying 'maybe I'll become a sweet person if I live on a diet comprised only of cake'. It would never work. Just like eating sweets didn't make one sweet, being honest with people wouldn't make them be honest with you as well.

Life didn't work that way.

It will _never_work that way.

Lambdadelta might have spent a lot of time with her 'beloved Bern', but Bernkastel still felt she couldn't really trust the immature witch who was always lying to her.

It wasn't like she tried to hide the fact she was lying, either.

It was so blatant Bernkastel could have rolled her eyes- and it was beginning to get tiring.

Boring.

Everything was so _boring._

"T-the witches at the council are so mean!" Lambdadelta continued. Her voice got a little more hysterical once she'd realized Bernkastel hadn't immediately tried to comfort her. "T-they say such horrible things to me… D-don't they remember _I_used to be a witch on the council too? U-uwahh…" Snivel, hiccups. Always put at the best places to sound the most heart-rending. Lambdadelta was such a good actress."I-it's so unfair!"

When she wasn't over-acting, of course. Lambdadelta didn't understand subtly.

Bernkastel didn't say anything.

She didn't say anything because she didn't want to say anything. Why should she waste words on a liar?

Lambdadelta claimed she was crying because of something that had happened earlier that day. Or… maybe it hadn't happened that day- but it had definitely happened a short while ago.

Bernkastel wasn't sure about many things, but she was sure about that.

Given the strange, mysterious way time worked in the meta world, it was always difficult to be precise about it. Everything in the meta world was pristine and white, never changing. The sun and the moon and the stars in the sky were luxuries not afforded to witches and demons. They could only witness these spectacles humans took for granted if they descended upon the human world. Retaining corporeal form amidst clouds of anti-magic toxin was so draining few witches or demons bothered with this, though.

The lives of those who knew magic were bland and boring, with no sky and no stars, and nothing to mark the passage of time. When time didn't exist, it never ended. The concept of 'time' was even more confused and jumbled to a voyager witch like Bernkastel, who flitted restlessly between _kakera_ just like a butterfly hovered from flower to flower in a vast, never-ending rose garden.

Voyager witches were even lonelier than normal witches or demons. They had no real homes or family. They just… existed- and sometimes their existence alighted on one world, and sometimes it alighted on another, but they had no ties to bind them to one place for very long.

It was quite miserable.

Anyway, to get back to the point at hand.

Lambdadelta's tears, and the reason behind them.

Bernkastel had recently attended a meeting with the council of witches. It didn't really matter how recently- all she knew was that it _had_ been recent. The council was an exclusive group comprised of the most revered witches in the meta world, and a more exquisite collection of ruffled, ornate, antique dresses had never before been seen gathered together in the same room. A fashion designer would have loved to observe the myriad of beautiful fabrics and antique bonnets that were sure to gather, like seagulls flocking round food, whenever witches had a tea party.

Although the council was comprised of strong, fearsome witches, they never discussed anything overly important. Mostly, it was an opportunity for people to brag about latest exploits and drink tea. It was held all under the guise of formality and friendship but, in truth, they all hated each other and would not have blinked an eye if any of their comrades were found slaughtered by Eiserne Jungfrau. That was the two-sided, selfish nature of most witches.

Bernkastel didn't know why she attended those meetings. They were so dull. The tea served there wasn't very nice, either. There really was no reason to stay.

None at all, except…

_Ha._

Perhaps the main reason she still attended those meetings she disliked so much was to annoy and upset Lambdadelta. Lambda had previously held a chair in the witches' council long, long before Bern ever had. However, Bernkastel had defeated her, and had taken her spot. Bernkastel just wanted to rub it into her face a little that she had the privilege of having tea parties with the strongest of witches and Lambda no longer did.

It was childish, but Bernkastel was a childish person. Taking pleasure in small things, like the looks of jealousy Lambda would throw at her before she could smooth them over, was her favorite pastime.

Bernkastel thought the previous witches' council meeting had been about Beatrice, but she could hardly remember. It wasn't important. The witches never acted on anything they discussed- mainly because they didn't care. It was just a bland way of whiling through the hours.

In that respect, the meeting had been just as boring as ordinary. There were no surprises there.

However, at the end of the meeting, something different from the norm did occur…

Somebody had been waiting for her- and there had been simply no mistaking that mass of pink and Halloween candy.

It was Lambdadelta.

Lambda had been come to 'pick her up', just like a mother would wait outside the school gates for their child. Bernkastel might have been annoyed at how presumptuous Lambda was- 'you really think I want to talk to you?'- but seeing her after a meeting had been something new, and Bernkastel hated the monotonous and predictable. Instead of being annoyed, she was actually, surprisingly… somewhat amused.

Bernkastel hadn't even been angry when Lambda, in view of the other witches, had pulled her 'darling Bern!~' into a huge hug. Head resting on her shoulder, blonde hair tickling the side of Bern's cheek, Lambda had held onto her tightly as though she were a buoy in a storm at sea. If she let go, she might die.

That would be a fun experiment…

"Bern!~ Bern, there you are! I missed you! When you're at those stupid council meetings you actually hate attending but only go to just to spite me I get so bored and lonely!" Lambda had wailed- and Bernkastel hadn't reprimanded her at all.

Instead, she…

Well.

For a few brief moments, she had to try very hard not to smile.

Just a little.

It wasn't really a real smile anyway; no, it really wasn't!

But… there was something sincere and warm about Lambda's hug.

There was something comforting about the way she pressed their bodies together.

Bernkastel had even started musing that maybe, just maybe, Lambda was telling the truth just that once.

Maybe she really _did_ miss her.

She had never been missed before. It was a very odd feeling; not exactly unpleasant, just… strange.

Being with Lambdadelta at all was a strange experience in itself.

Squealing, Lambda had pressed her cheek against Bern's, ranting about how precious she was. Of course the other witches had noticed. It was only to be expected.

Lambdadelta wasn't very good at monitoring the volume of her voice.

Most witches tried to act with a certain degree of grace and dignity, and acting like a child was certainly anything other than 'graceful' or 'dignified'. Lambda was anything but.

The witch from the council who had observed the spectacle was Elsa Maria, a rather formidable witch who acted as the head of the council. Now, it should be noted that although she was formidable, she was by no means the strongest witch in the meta world. That title could only go to one who was truly twisted with no morals, such as Featherine Augustus Aurora, as Bernkastel could tell you herself, if she was the mood to do so (which she generally wasn't). The truly powerful witches didn't attend the council, and had no desire to be affiliated with it. They held it in the same regard as Bernkastel, really; an annual tea party for foolish witches to boast, in some faint hope they could relieve the feelings of ennui and worthlessness that constantly plagued their unacknowledged existences.

Elsa Maria was a very old witch, though, and a very strong one. She was notable for taking many promising humans under her wing and training them to be witches like her. However, as she had a very short temper, she rarely managed to cull these humans into anything remotely resembling a witch before she grew bored and disappeared.

She was very fickle like that.

Elsa Maria had observed Lambdadelta clinging to Bernkastel and she had made some disparaging comment- something like, "Oh my… A witch who was once on the council shouldn't act in such a disgustingly childish manner… Lady Lambdadelta, you really are a disgrace; no wonder Lady Bernkastel was able to defeat you… Fufufu…~"

It wasn't a very good insult, and it certainly wasn't able to upset Lambdadelta, who heard comments about how 'childish' she was almost 24/7 from the other witches.

Ha~ They were just jealous of her because she was so powerful and cute and pretty, _obviously_.

Still, being insulted like that before her precious Bern had stung a little- like a weak concentration of salt water being poured into a very shallow cut. Being devious, Lambda had hoped to shed some fake tears over that incident, and maybe get Bern to sympathize with her.

Of course, Bernkastel had seen through that in an instant.

"Bern, Bernnn~" Lambda continued to whine, pinching Bernkastel's cheeks. "I'm, like, really upset here! I'm a strong witch too, but nobody wants to recognize that! I feel so _dejected_! Don't you want to make me feel better?~ I thought you liked me…?"

Bernkastel didn't comment. The look on her face didn't even change.

She was… bored.

She was bored of all the lying; of this fake relationship built on Lambdadelta's constant lies; of feeling like a fly Lambda was trying to lure into a trap. Lambdadelta was getting boring and predictable, and Bernkastel _hated_being bored.

She hated it.

Hate…

Now, then. Hate was a pretty strong emotion- so maybe being with Lambdadelta wasn't all that bad. Hatred certainly made her feel less… empty… …

Why had the warm, impulsive hug from earlier been different? When Lambda held Bern tightly like that, just a young child would cuddle a much-loved stuffed toy, Bernkastel didn't feel like pushing her away. Sometimes she would make apathetic comments or roll her eyes, but she could never gather the heart to tell her to stop. Her heart just wasn't in it.

When Lambdadelta was like this, however, it was different.

Bernkastel didn't want to be with her.

She wanted to shout at her- to pull her hair- to summon her lovely, cute kitties and tear that wolfish smile straight from Lambda's face with their disease-ridden claws. When Lambda was playing the crafty fairytale monster that wanted to ensnare the young maiden ('I'll build a beautiful bird cage made of gold and keep you locked up in it alllll~ for myself!~') Bernkastel didn't want to be anywhere near her.

Bernkastel was used to being locked up.

She wouldn't let it happen again. She was nobody's toy.

She didn't want fake tears and false emotions.

She didn't want friendships based on lies.

She just wanted something… … truthful, for once… and maybe warm; impulsive; genuinely caring…?

_Urgh._

How sentimental, how disgusting! It was pitiable enough Bernkastel felt herself grinning a cruel, sadistic smile at her own stupidity. She really _was_ pathetic, then- and delusional! What kind of witch expected to be _loved_? If she had ridiculous dreams like that she'd end up weak, just like that poor, broken little Beatrice; the young servant girl playing at being a majestic witch in her too-ornate dress with the blonde hair in a bun that didn't suit her.

Bernkastel was a real witch and she wasn't going to delude herself into thinking she could have a happy ending. Miracles were impossible, after all.

Impossible…

Instantly, Bernkastel's tiny body stiffened. Her heart seemed to freeze in her chest.

Lambda's fingers against her skin suddenly felt like the claws of a monster burrowing into her skin.

N-no…

She wouldn't delude herself anymore…

"Hey, Bernnnn~"

Fingers pressed with just a little more strength against her pale wrist; free hand rolled her long sleeves up the arm to reveal more milky white skin. Bernkastel's delicate blue veins traced delicate criss-crossing patterns up and down that exposed flesh. If Lambda bit down she could tear that skin away, strip it from her body to the bone, and take those pretty arteries between her clumsy, chlildish fingers and squeeze hard until blood went splattering against that pale skin.

_I__'__ll__ never __let __you __go_.

Bernkastel shuddered.

Lambda pressed her face into Bern's, caring nothing for personal space; the mere concept of it being shredded unceremoniously to tatters. Lambda was always forceful and graceless. Nose bumping against Bern's, Lambda continued to lean forwards, her sweet breath of mixed sugar and honey and poisonous lies ghosting against Bern's face.

"Bern…~"

Her voice dipped to a delicious whisper.

"_I__ love __you_…"

Her lips were pink as cherry blossoms.

Her pointed tongue was like a cats'.

It… hurt when Lambdadelta smashed their mouths together.

Teeth clinked against teeth; hands fisted in blue hair; Bernkastel was pushed back against her pillow- fingers were roaming everywhere all at once, everything in her mouth was sweet, too sweet, like that disgusting tea served at the witches' council when Bernkastel always preferred the simpler things…

_I love you, Bernkastel~_

But that wasn't true.

This wasn't 'love'.

The truth…

Was it so odd for a witch, who existed precariously between half-formed fantasy and tremulous reality, in a world of shadows with no concept of time, to want to discover the truth…?

This touch wasn't real; it didn't _mean_anything.

She didn't mean anything.

Everything, it was… all wrong…

It was painful and forceful and messy and cruel, childish laughter from pink lips and teasing touches; it was sex for the sake of sex with no real love behind it because Lambdadelta was a greedy girl who wanted to own everything _all__ for __herself _and eat it up like a plate of delicious dessert, and when she said _I__ love __you _she never meant it because the only person she had ever loved was herself; the only thing she cared about was fulfilling her own needs, and, and, a-and…

_Enough!_

_Stop it!_

"O-ow! W-what was that for…?"

Lambdadelta recoiled in pain, voice indistinct; words messy and garbled and half impossible to understood, though Bern could hear them clearly all the same.

Those pink, pouting lips were stained with spots of red.

Bernkastel had bitten down on her tongue.

She had bitten as hard as she could, teeth sinking into flesh, and then pulled back- jerking Lambdadelta's head forwards with such force she might even have been able to tear the tongue out of Lambda's mouth.

That's what you did with your problems, right? You snipped them off at the root. If a rose wasn't blooming properly you cut it at the stalk, because in nature it was useless waiting for things to improve by themselves.

That didn't happen.

You had to sacrifice the ugly roses for the sake of making a pretty flowerbed.

Lambdadelta could only ever lie using that tongue.

Bernkastel only wanted the occasional looks of real affection, the hands that played with her hair gently, and the person who lay beside her at night and pulled her into warm, tight hugs when she was having nightmares.

Lambda didn't need a tongue for any of that- not really.

Whenever she spoke, it was only to say something foolish or hurtful.

Lambdadelta looked at Bernkastel in surprise, face pale, filled with pain, and obviously being bitten that hard had really _hurt_ because the tears budding in the corners of her eyes might have been genuine this time. When people don't expect pain, a sudden shock like that can really mess with the mind.

Even Lambdadelta wasn't impervious towards surprises like that, it seemed.

"Bern, y-you… you…"

But Bernkastel didn't look, didn't listen.

She didn't want to look at that pathetic face anymore.

"You're so predictable, Lambda. If you want to engage in that sort of game go and ask somebody else. I don't want to play with you anymore."

"B-but Bern…"

It hurt to talk, but Lambda tried anyway. She would have done a lot of things for Bern, really- but she hardly even knew that herself, so she couldn't tell Bernkastel.

Bernkastel could taste Lambdadelta's filthy blood in her mouth. How troublesome. She would have to have a cup of tea to wash that disgusting taste away. The blood of a liar was too sour even for her to swallow; she, who liked sour pickled plum tea, at only twenty yen a packet.

It was a shame Lambdadelta was better at making tea than her, or she would have asked…

_No_.

Bernkastel didn't want to see her again.

"Leave me be, Lambda. You really are sickening. Looking at you, I could vomit."

There was no arguing with that tone of voice.

Whimpering slightly, like a dog that had been kicked, Lambda gave Bernkastel's back a reproachful, wide-eyed look. Bernkastel never saw it. Maybe, if she had, things would have been different. There was something unguarded about that expression of Lambda's; something sincerely, honestly truthful.

But Bernkastel never saw it.

Nobody told Lambdadelta to stay. Everything about Bernkastel's body language was telling her, in no uncertain terms, to get out. So she did.

As it is so often is with people who care about each other, but are unable to properly show it and find themselves arguing, neither was very happy about this arrangement.

But both were too proud to say.

* * *

><p><strong>an:** Uu, so I wrote this because of a request from TheDrawingOtaku… It was meant to be a short & sweet oneshot, but then I had an idea and it ended up a lot longer… I hope that's okay? / o_o /  
>The first part of the request was… 'Bern does something to hurt, annoy and make Lambda angry with her, more so than usual.' Which is what this bit kind of deals with, but it'll be more prevalent in the next part.<br>I think it will possibly have four parts… And it will include Furfur, just 'cause XD I hope you like it ^_^;;

It was going to be more light-hearted and funny than this, but it ended up serious instead. Because these two have a twisted relationship XD

I edited this so much I don't even, I really disliked how it was written and altered a whole lot of it, and cut huge bits out… But now I don't know if it's good or not because I spent so long editing… But I thought I should stop worrying about it and just post it already ._.ll

**~renahhchen****xoxo**


	2. Part o2

**Love ****is ****Pain  
><strong>Part Two

* * *

><p>"Uwahh! What's up with Bern, anyways? S-she was so mean…!"<p>

Lambdadelta had been wailing to herself like this for the past five minutes or so. The burning pain in her tongue had healed somewhat, so she could shout all she wanted.

Being a witch had all kinds of perks. When it was certain an injury would heal, if given a little time, Lambdadelta was able to patch up these small scrapes and scratches a lot quicker than a normal human's body could. It was certain the wound would heal at some point, and her magic enabled that certain outcome to occur a lot quicker than usual.

Magic sure was handy~

Lambdadelta was so good at crying she truly put Leviathan, the Stake of Envy, to shame. Leviathan was a very unfortunate girl who had been born under an unlucky star, requiring her to exist in a state of constant jealousy. Of course, being jealous of everything and everyone means you have very low self worth, and that isn't conductive to creating a happy person.

But Lambdadelta could cry even harder than she could.

That really _was_incredible.

Lambda's tears were just a mark of how much she loved her beloved Bern.

Or maybe they were further proof that she was a manipulative brat who was good at feigning emotion.

Snivelling, Lambdadelta clutched one of her pillows her chest, burying her head in the nice warm softness. Even so, it wasn't really comforting.

It wasn't comforting because it wasn't her lovely Bern.

"H-hngh… Bern… … W-why are you so cruel…?"

Lambdadelta's tongue didn't hurt anymore- but now her eyes did. They were rimmed red from her waterfall of tears, and they stinging horribly because she'd wiped them so often. Her throat hurt as well.

Maybe she was getting a temperature.

Maybe she was _dying_.

Well then… Maybe, if she died, Bern would be sorry then. Hahahaha~

But, still... dying to prove a point didn't seem like very much fun.

Bernkastel probably wouldn't care if she was dead, anyway. She'd just coolly sip her tea, just like a real lady, and avert her eyes- '_looking__ at __you __makes __me __want __to __vomit_…' That wasn't something you said to somebody you cared about.

Lambdadelta hiccupped, the sound muffled by her pillow. Now her temper tantrum had died down she didn't have to energy to do anything much other than curl up into a ball with a pillow and mope.

Lambdadelta pouted. It was a very cute pout but, sadly, nobody was there to see it. Because nobody could see it, it was pointless… so it soon slipped from her lips. There was no point expressing emotion if nobody could witness it, after all.

If Bernkastel didn't return Lambdadelta's feelings, did that devalue the strength of her love?

Did it mean her feelings… were worthless… …?

Was she deluding herself, thinking Bern would ever care for her?

Well, some people did say love was a delusion in itself. Mutual love was only a delusion that two people had chosen to believe at the same time.

Could 'love' even exist in the twisted, withered heart of a witch like Bernkastel? Was she too broken to feel 'love' like an ordinary person?

It was true Lambdadelta wanted to posses Bernkastel aaaaall to herself~ She wanted to lock her pretty Bern up in a cage and never let her escape. Lambda had lost too many things in her life, and it would have killed her if she lost Bern, too.

Was that kind of possessive nature normal?

…It probably wasn't normal.

It was creepy and over the top and way, way too obsessive, and any normal person would have run away from such intense feeling. What did they call people who wanted to lock up the ones they loved? Stalkers?

Maybe Bern was… scared of her…?

But Lambdadelta did like being with Bern, she really did, and that was because… oh, because… she didn't know; she couldn't put it into words.

Lambdadelta wore so many masks she hardly understood her own feelings anymore.

She wanted to be with Bern because life was dreadfully, painfully, unbearably _boring _without her. Bern might have been cold and aloof, but that was fun, that was part of the challenge, and when Bernkastel returned her hugs and caresses with some kind of affection Lambdadelta always felt her heart swell with happiness.

Lambda wanted to be with Bern because, strangely enough, she actually liked that funny, apathetic witch, and thought listening to her cold reprimands was funny, and thought she oh-so-cuuuute when, every once in a millennium, she actually smiled.

That was it, really.

It was that simple.

Lambdadelta wanted to be with Bernkastel because she liked her.

"I… really do care for you, you know… You idiot."

But Bernkastel would never hear those words. She was cynical and she didn't believe in love. She didn't believe she herself deserved to be loved. So when Lambdadelta told her, Bernkastel thought she was lying.

Their relationship was one that could never work.

Well, there was one thing Lambdadelta knew for certain.

Without Bern, she felt lonely. When she felt lonely, she felt limp and listless, quite unlike her unusual self. And when she wasn't like her usual self, everything seemed bland, grey and drab. Even thinking up weird insults and death threats lost its fun. Even the most delicious cakes lost their flavour. Even mocking that stupid little maid girl- oh, but she was the 'great witch' Beatrice now, huhhh?~- was boring.

Fortunately for Lambdadelta (or maybe unfortunately, it depends how you look at it), she wasn't the only one in the meta world who felt lonely. Just like two magnets, these two lonely people naturally fell together- as melancholy people are able, very easily, to find others experiencing the same emotions as them.

A soft pressure alighted on Lambdadelta's bed.

Fingers pressed against the witch's shoulders.

A light, teasing voice split the air.

"Oh my… Being in love really _is_a trial, isn't it?~ People claim love is something beautiful, but that is an illusion created by blind-sighted fools who haven't plumbed the _real_depths of the most obsessive, upsetting types of love… Fufufufu~ Love is not soft and warm, or Valentine's Day chocolates. That's fake; it's a dream, a delusion, a childish fantasy! _Real__ love__…_" A series of giggles; intrusive fingertips pushing against Lambdadelta's chest, as though they were trying to burrow inside her flesh. "Real love _hurts_ right here… Doesn't it… …?~"

Lambdadelta stiffened slightly at these touch, at those words.

That voice was deceptively light and innocent, just like a schoolgirls'. However, the actual words were very dark and twisted.

Those wide, bright blue eyes; that impossibly large smirk; that bright outfit, so gaudy and colorful it even put Lambdadelta to shame…

It was Furfur.

_Urgh._

Most people saw Zepar and Furfur as fun figures who existed to add a splash of color to the too-white meta world. Most people thought they were harmless. After all, they ruled over love- and what was more harmless than a sweet, fluffy emotion like that?

…Those people were idiots.

Lambdadelta had always thought Zepar and Furfur were dangerous. They had no real physical fighting skills, but they could manipulative emotionally- and wasn't that more damaging than physical pain?

Physical pain healed. Pain in the heart, however…

Lambdadelta didn't want to talk to Furfur. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody- let alone a demon who was perhaps more sadistic than she was.

It wasn't that she was afraid, per say. Lambdadelta wasn't really afraid of anybody. She was a lot stronger than most of the other witches, even if they had booted her out of their special little tea party club. Lambda figured that was probably because they feared her.

But Lambdadelta was still wary around Zepar and Furfur.

At least only half of the creepy twin duo had come to 'console' her. They were significantly less of a threat by themselves.

"What are you doing here?" Lambdadelta said, glaring.

Furfur smiled sweetly. "My, my- don't sound so accusatory! I was attracted here by the sound of a fair maiden's lovely tears and, being a demon of love, I was _compelled_to comfort you!"

Lambdadelta pouted childishly, puffing her cheeks out like a blowfish. Seizing the pillow at her chest, she threw it roughly at Furfur's head.

"I wasn't crying, stupid! I was _angry__ '_cause my lovely Bern is being so nasty- but I'd never **cry**! At least…~ Not _truthfully_, fufufufu~"

"Uuu. Don't throw stuff at me," said Furfur, returning Lambda's pout. The demon tried to pat down their disordered hair, lime green fingernails contrasting against all that orange hair. "I just want to help! Is this how my calm, soothing presence is rewarded?"

"You? Calm and soothing? In _that_outfit? Don't make me laugh. You're giving me a headache just by sitting there. Kikikikyahahahaha!~"

Ahh, laughing like that did make her feel a bit better~

"Well, it's not nice to resort to insults based on appearance," said Furfur, dropping the melodramatic speech in a manner that was kind of sweet. "Anyway… You might not have been crying on the outside, but you were crying from your poor, tortured soul! Demons of love can hear feelings like that from inside the heart, you know?"

Lambda rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Where's your partner in crime, anyway? It's weird hearing you talk for an extended period of time without that deep, manly voice cutting in every few seconds."

"My darling Zepar has a lovely voice," said Furfur defensively. "It's so beautiful, I wish I could listen to it whisper sweet nothings in my ear for the rest of eternity… Ahhh, to be so captured only by a voice… …~ That is real love, hmm?~"

"Oh, _yawn_. You talk too much even without your twin. Or maybe you're trying to compensate 'cause they're not there?"

"Mm, and I do wonder~"

"And you still haven't answered my question. Why are you here, really? And where's Zepar?"

Furfur's wide smile faltered somewhat, as the demon of love- now uncharacteristically unsure- began to distractedly play with their hair. Furfur looked just a little… upset…?

Speaking softly, Zepar said shyly, "Well… Even I have arguments with Zepar sometimes, too…"

It sounded like they were confessing to some great, grave secret- and, really, given Furfur's nature, they _were_.

Lambdadelta's eyes widened by a fraction, so her face was eaten up those large, crimson irises. Her face looked paler for it.

"Whoa… You mean, even _you_ guys have arguments sometimes…? I don't believe it!"

"It's true."

"But you're not even, like, two people! You're always together- you might as well be one entity! You can't have an argument like, ever! That'd be like if I had a debate with my stomach about… about… about the delicious-ness of strawberry cheesecake! We have to agree with everything because we're made up of the same stuff! Aren't you two like that?"

"Well, usually, yes, but…"

Furfur sighed, idly coiling strands of hair round a finger. The look on their face was of complete and utter dejection, so dissimilar from the typical wide smile it was actually disconcerting.

There was a small pause.

Then… Furfur's shoulders began to shake.

There were actual _tears_ in those blue eyes, which didn't seem as empty as they usually were. They were brimful of emotion now, like a witches' cauldron of swirling feelings.

"Z-zepar and I had an argument- a real argument! M-my lovely Zepar got m-mad with me… A-and now I'm all alone…! I-I don't want to be alone without my dear Zepar! U-uwaaaaaah!"

Furfur's violent sobs were similar to Lambdadelta's own overblown ones. However, Lambdadelta, a very proficient liar in her own right, got the feeling Furfur was being truthful for once. Given Furfur's overblown, over-dramatic nature, Lambda was sure there'd be at least be half a dozen Shakespeare quotes thrown around if Furfur was pretending to be sad. As it was, Furfur just sounded like a little child. There was nothing graceful about those tears at all.

Sniffing, Furfur wiped their eyes with the back of their arm, blinking winsomely at Lambdadelta. For the first time, Furfur looked less like the cheerfully sadistic demon they were, and more like a little girl whose hair had been pulled in the playground.

Anybody would have felt the need to hug a crying person like that.

However, Lambdadelta wasn't 'anybody'. She was a thoroughly nasty piece of work dressed in a too-pink outfit, and she thought other people's misery was interesting, and kind of funny.

"H-honestly, I was feeling really sad and, a-and… _hic_… I-I just wanted to find somebody to comfort me! W-without Zepar I feel like I'm missing half my body, like, an arm and a leg and a lung, and my heart… A-and… I-I… I…"

Furfur looked up at Lambdadelta from under the long lashes, spiky with tears.

Speaking softly, childishly, Furfur whispered, "I… j-just want a cuddle…"

Lambdadelta's eyes widened slightly.

Then, she snorted, whacking Furfur upside the head with the pillow once more.

"You are _impossible_, you idiot," Lambdadelta cooed. "I didn't know you had such a useless side, too- you always act so disgustingly happy."

"W-well, I'm still human, too!"

"Human?"

"D-demon… W-whatever… There isn't that much difference." Sniff, sniff.

Lambdadelta's eyes softened slightly as she watched Furfur cry. It was kind of cathartic.

"Okay, I _guess_I could give you a hug," said Lambdadelta, looking down disdainfully at Furfur. "If you're that _uselessss_. However, what am _I_gonna get in return? I don't give out my love for free, you know, kikikikikiki~~"

"U-um, well…" Smiling, Furfur wiped more tears from the corners of those eerily blue eyes. "I can tell you how to make Lady Bernkastel return your feelings."

Lambdadelta looked at Furfur suspiciously.

"I'm not an idiot, you know! I've seen you screw around with people's relationships before! You give people false hopes of helpless romances and then you cut those feelings down!"

"Hn? False hopes? Was not Puck trying to help the hopeless lovers when he doused their eyes with love-in-idleness?"

"No, he screwed everything up."

"But Helena and her beloved Demetrius had a happy ending!~"

"Only because of a magical flower; and I wonder how that relationship would've turned out when it wore off… But, whatever…! I'm not interested!" said Lambdadelta, flicking Furfur on the forehead. "Why should I take your advice? You just want to see me, the great Lady Lambdadelta, make a fool out of myself! I don't need to accept the advice of _anyone _because I'm Super Paper, see?"

"Aw?~ You don't trust me? I only bring loving couples together to make them happy, you know!" Furfur pulled a face. "It's not my fault that, sometimes, certain deluded people ask for romances that are impossible… Magic can only do so much, you know?"

"Of _course_I know that; everybody knows miracles don't exist."

"That's right. But your relationship with Lady Bernkastel… it can be resolved without miracles. All you need is a little prodding in the right direction. Because you're actually really useless with people's feelings, aren't you?" Furfur smiled sweetly, tipping their head to one side. "I'll just make you a bit less clueless, that's all~"

"I'm not _clueless_! I'm the best at playing Cluedo- way better than Beato and Gaap! And **I** make the best Miss Scarlet!" Lambda shot back childishly. "But, um…" She relented slightly; mingled doubts and hopes beginning to eat away at her resolve. "Fine. I guess I'll let you give me some advice. It doesn't mean I have to act on it."

She looked down at the bed.

Then, with a small sigh… she held her arms aloft.

"Now come here."

"T-thank you…~"

"And I'm not doing this because I like you, okay? I still think you're a creepy waste of space. I just didn't want you to get everything all wet with your tears. It's pathetic, really."

"Hehe~ Sure…"

With a few timid words of thanks, Furfur crawled up to Lambdadelta, letting the blonde witch pull her into a hug. Tentatively, Furfur returned the embrace, resting head against Lambda's chest just like a child seeking comfort from a parent.

"Lambda smells of sweets~" Furfur said, voice light and sing-song. "And cake. It's funny, because she looks so adorable on the outside, but… fufufu~ The poisonous apples are the ones that look the most appealing, right?"

"I don't know what you mean! I don't understand at aaaaall!"

Furfur giggled softly. "It's nice playing dumb to avoid serious accusations against your character, huh?~"

"Well, you're no better than me."

"Maybe that's true. Or maybe… Maybe I want all the couples I bless to succeed and be happy. Maybe I _want _true love to conquer all." Furfur sighed. "And maybe even a demon like me, who preys on the unhappiness of others, feels sad when those fairytale romances are ultimately doomed."

"Not even all fairytales have happy endings. Not even humans are stupid enough to delude themselves into believing everything ends cheerfully. What about the Little Mermaid, the Mother's Tale, Bluebeard? Those aren't happy stories."

"Mm… It's sad that, even when creating fantasies, humans can be terrible realists… At least I can try and help you. I don't believe _your_story is fated to have an unhappy ending." Furfur smiled; the small, earnest expression lost, given their head was against Lambda's chest. "It's a shame the two lead characters in this love story are so stupid, though. Then again…_Love__ looks __not __with __the __eyes, __but __with __the __mind, __And__ therefore __is __winged __Cupid painted__ blind_~ Fufu~"

"Stop quoting Shakespeare at me, it's so pretentious. And I resent that! I'm not stupid! I'm the amazingly cute and pretty witch, Lambdadelta, okay?"

Furfur squeaked as Lambdadelta prodded their side.

"Ah, okay, okay! You're amazingly cute and pretty. Happy now?"

"Sure, sure. Come on, Furfuuuuur~" Lambda cooed, voice silky sweet, as she continued to jab the demon in the side. "What advice were you gonna give me? Not that I'm going to take it, of course!"

"K-kyahh! Stop that! S-stop poking me!"

"Huhhh?~ This bothers you that much?~ Well, then… Better start talking, instead of dancing around the subject."

"S-sure, sure!"

Furfur pushed away from Lambda, moving to adjust their rumpled clothes and hair. Trying to affect an air of professionalism (though it was tainted slightly by the rather more sincere smile than usual), Furfur began to speak.

"This is just a theory, but I do so enjoy pondering the mindsets of complicated people… And Lady Bernkastel is the most complicated of all, ufufu~

"Lady Bernkastel might be the so-called 'cruellest witch' of all witches, but people only become cruel if they themselves have been treated abominably in the past. Is that not the truth?" said Furfur, looking at Lambdadelta levelly.

Lambddadelta couldn't argue with that logic. It was true. She was more aware of that than anyone.

"Well, maybe, given Lady Bernkastel's fearful past, she doesn't want a violent relationship. She might act harsh and cruel, but that could so _easily_be a front to disguise her true feelings. She pushes people away to protect herself. I have heard rumors of her past with Lady Featherine, and how she was treated, and what happened to her… That must have hurt; especially as the young, innocent miko trusted her mentor witch so. That trust was betrayed. So it must be difficult for Lady Bernkastel to believe the words of liars.

"Is it not impossible to imagine, then, that a girl like that would, despite her reputation of being twisted, actually desire a loving relationship built on trust? No; I think that conclusion isn't so farfetched… After all… If you love someone, you can't let lies come between you. No matter what happens - even if you've already lost each other forever - you owe each other the truth."

Lambdadelta raised a brow at this, folding her arms.

"But you're forgetting that I know my dear Bernkastel better than you ever could. I'm the one who spends the most time with her. Bern's a really fickle creature, you know, like a cat. They're always running off and leaving the people that feed them. If I was nice to Bern all the time she'd get bored…"

Lambdadelta's eyes darkened. Her fingers clenched into fists.

"I… don't want Bern to get bored of me. I-if that happened I… I-"

"_Boredom__ between __two __people __doesn't __come __from__ being __together __physically~_" Furfur interjected, smiling sweetly."Boredom stems from being _alone._ Don't you know that?"

Lambdadelta's face flushed light pink. She batted Furfur's finger away.

"S-stop talking to me in riddles like that! I-I can't believe Bern would really want my love… N-not when she's so cruel to me. If I don't return her cruelty, then she'll ignore me!"

"You can believe that if you want- but there's a very simple way to test how Lady Bernkastel really feels about you."

Against her better judgement, Lambdadelta felt herself getting intrigued. There was a way to prove how Bern felt? But Bern was such a strange, complicated girl, who wore mask after mask to hide her true feelings. Peeling one false skin away only found another, and another, until Lambda thought she might just give up, if she hadn't known she had a whole eternity to try and find the real Bernkastel behind her numerous façades.

Love does funny things to people.

Yes… …

Lambdadelta was sure that was what she felt. If she hadn't loved Bern, why else would she have been so upset when the other constantly refused her feelings?

The dim memory of pain still seeped through her tongue.

Lambdadelta didn't want Bern to push her away like that anymore.

"It's quite simple," said Furfur, noting Lambdadelta's interest. "If you feel Lady Bernkastel really despises you, then you should test her real feelings… by ignoring her. See how she reacts. If she's upset by your absence, then you'll have proof she cares about you, too."

Lambdadelta's eyes widened slightly.

"B-but… but I couldn't ignore my precious Bern… I-I want to be with her aaaaall the time, even if she hates me! That's how I feel! I'm just happy being with her!"

"Well, if that's how it is… I can't help you."

Furfur yawned; holding out thin arms adorned with numerous bracelets for Lambdadelta to take.

"I'm sleepy," the demon of love said softly, in those babyish tones so unlike their usual, melodramatic way of speaking. "I want a hug."

Lambdadelta sighed.

If it wasn't Bernkastel, she wasn't interested. Furfur was warm and soft to hold onto, and having somebody to curl up to was a comfort; it made her feel wanted, needed, and not so horribly, desperately alone…

It reminded her she had, in fact, escaped from that dark, closed space which still lurked at the corners of her mind when she closed her eyes.

But it wasn't right.

Bernkastel might have been all skin and bone, sharp and pointy and painful to hold, with seemingly too many elbows, and she writhed fitfully in her sleep, but…

But that was how it was meant to be.

Bernkastel was meant to be by Lambdadelta's side.

With anybody else, it just felt _wrong._

Lambdadelta couldn't sleep at all that night.

Ignore Bern…?

The mere thought made her feel sick- like deliberately going on a diet and cutting all sugar from her life. Why should she give up the things the few things in life that actually made her happy?

She'd rather die.

Maybe… she _would._

* * *

><p><em><em>**a/n: **I apologize for the large amount of Furfur here, in a Bern/Lambda fic... but part of the prompt was Lambda ignores Bern, and given Lambda's kind of obsessive personality, I'm not sure she'd ignore Bern willingly, no mater what Bern does or says to her XD


	3. Part o3

**Love ****is ****Pain  
><strong>Part Three

* * *

><p>"Hey. I'm thirsty."<p>

"Hoh?~ And what do you want _me_ to do about it?" asked Beatrice, the Golden Witch, sharply.

"Duhh, isn't it obvious? Get me some more tea. Oh, and make sure there's more than six sugar cubes in it- I need something really sweet to overcome the bitter taste of _heartbreak_."

"Pu ku ku~ Certainly, Lady Lambdadelta. I would be quite an incompetent butler if you died because I prepared your tea shoddily," said Ronove.

In a familiar haze of golden butterflies, Beato's butler summoned the willow-patterned teapot and began to refill Lambdadelta's cup for the umpteenth time. In a series of graceful movements, he dropped the required number of sugar cubes in the tea, and swirled the contents of the cup slowly, methodically, with a silver spoon.

It was a common courtesy for people to use silver spoons when stirring the tea of guests. It checked for poison. Lambdadelta was unpopular enough that some people might just try to slip her a bit of arsenic along with her sugar cubes in her tea.

Ronove was too respectable to do that, of course.

Under most situations, Lambdadelta would go as wide-eyed as the Stake of Gluttony, Beelzebub, whenever she saw- or even smelt- the smallest trace of sugar. However, this wasn't 'most situations', and she was miserable.

That was right- she was dying.

Maybe not even sugar-laced tea, or Ronove's excellent baking, could save her.

Dejectedly, Lambdadelta accepted her tea without even a thank you. She then proceeded to stare at it, eyes empty, but made no motion to drink.

Beatrice scowled.

"I let **my** butler prepare you **my **tea out of the goodness of my heart, and now you don't even accept my hospitality? Isn't that a little rude?"

"I think that might be a case of the pot calling the kettle black, Beato" Virgilia muttered under her breath. Like any mother figure who has seen a child grow up, she couldn't help but be amused at Beatrice's hypocrisy.

Unfortunately, the child she was talking about was seated right next to Virgilia, and she wasn't deaf.

"Teacher! This isn't about _my_ manners, or polite… polite… polite-ness," said Beatrice sourly. She turned to give her mentor- her and her stupid, head-devouring hat hat!- a glare. "This is about Lady Lambdadelta! She's meant to be our guest, but she's being so_rude_! She's not even sitting up straight at the table, and you always bug me about that! Why is it okay for her to slouch like a hunchback but I have to sit up straight like a lady?"

"Because you are a lady, Beato, and when you are a host it is important to make a good impression."

"That's right," Ronove agreed. "Moreover, Lady Lambdadelta is your guest. We must treat her accordingly. It is not in my place to scold her; that would be terribly rude of me."

Beatrice puffed her cheeks out like a squirrel storing nuts, desperate to find some argument she could hit Ronove with. Beato was like that when she got into arguments. She didn't like losing.

"But, but… But-"

Virgilia's voice, gentle but firm, cut her off. "No 'buts', Beato. You have to learn to be more accommodating of other people's moods."

"Yeah, that's it ex~act~lyyyy," said Lambdadelta. "Remember, Beato. _I__'__m_the one who gave you awesome powers so you could be a witch in the first place. It's all thanks to me you'll be able to show that pitiful man a lesson if he ever comes crawling back, rii~iiight?"

At the mention of 'that pitiful man', Beatrice's shoulders tensed slightly. Her cheeks turned red. She'd been trying not to think about him, or the impeding games she had planned.

Thinking about stuff like that was bad for her digestion. It made Ronove's cookies lose their flavor.

"Oh… It'll be alright, Beato. There, there."

Noting her pupil's distress, Virgilia placed a comforting hand on Beatrice's shoulder. Beatrice wanted to throw it off, but she didn't have enough willpower.

Whenever she thought about _him_, she wanted to be comforted.

Even after all these years, he was still her one weakness.

Beatrice might have acted like a spoilt little girl at the best of times, not all that different from Lambdadelta, but most of it was a front. Underneath that insane smirk and that petulant pout lurked the heart of small, lost, lonely child. Virgilia, being Beato's teacher, knew that only too well.

After all, she had been with Beatrice ever since she was a little child with big dreams on that tiny island.

"You should show me some respect," Lambdadelta continued haughtily, flipping strands of blonde hair behind her shoulder in a manner very similar to Bernkastel. "If you act so rude to me I might _just _go back on my word and undo all my magic. Then, all your pre-planning will come to nothing, and you'll never get to play any of your games with him, or have your revenge! How'd you like them apples, huh?"

Beatrice's eyes widened.

"T-that's not fair! We had a promise… Y-you wouldn't…"

"I'm in a bad mood at the moment. _Try __me_."

Beatrice began to fidget nervously, her previous bravado gone. Would Lambdadelta really…?

B-but…?

Eyes large, desperate, she looked between Ronove and Virgilia for help.

Virgilia sighed. She knew Lady Lambdadelta was a fickle person, but she doubted Beato's status as a witch was in any immediate danger. Beato's game with that child hadn't even started yet, so Lambdadelta hadn't derived any satisfaction from the tales Beatrice hoped to weave. She wouldn't deny Beatrice's magic now.

Even so, Beatrice could try and learn from this experience.

"Just apologize, Beato," said Virgilia, voice soft and motherly. "That's what you should do when you upset somebody."

"B-but I don't wanna!" Despite her initial flutterings of fear, Beato still had a stubborn side, and it refused to back down. Stabbing a finger across the tea and cookie laden table at Lambdadelta, Beatrice cried, "_She_ started it!"

"It doesn't matter who started it. Be the mature person and finish it."

"People who can swallow their pride and apologize are the most mature, after all," Ronove added.

"Muu… Most mature, huh…?"

"That's right, pu ku ku~"

Beatrice tipped her head to one side, wondering. Was there a hidden insult masked in Ronove's words? Maybe, he was… calling Lambdadelta immature?

Well, that would explain his small smile.

Hmn.

Maybe he was right.

Beatrice would apologize first, and then _she_ would be the better person! She would be amazing and incredible, and Lambdadelta would have to glorify her name because she was so kind and wonderful! It was ingenious, really!

A small smile creeping across her face, Beatrice said regally, "Ah, I see, I see!~ I'm soooo sorry for upsetting you, Lady Lambdadelta."

Virgilia tutted. "Beato, don't be facetious."

"Face-what, now?"

Ronove had been trying to stifle his laughter behind his hands. However, at Beatrice's narrowed eyes and confused comment, he couldn't help but let a few laughs escape.

Lambdadelta blinked at Beatrice coolly from underneath her long lashes. Then, suddenly- so suddenly Beatrice wondered whether she was going to slap her across the face- Lambdadelta lifted her hand from the table…

And, grabbing hold of her cup of tea, drained it in one.

"Haa!~ Delicious!~"

Sighing in satisfaction, Lambdadelta put her cup of tea back down on the saucer, and wiped her mouth with her arm. Then, she glared at Beatrice.

"You're a terrible liar, and I wouldn't accept that apology at all, and your butler was being totally rude to me! I should turn you all into newts right now! But…" She paused. "Ronove makes really good tea, so maybe I can forgive you for being insolent… just this once. Besides…" She sighed, lacing her fingers together and resting her head atop of them. "I don't have the energy to be angry. I haven't seen my beloved Bern in _days_; I'm going crazy!"

"Ooh!~ That's so romantic!"

Lambdadelta turned her head in surprise at the sound of that new voice.

It came from the youngest of the Stakes of Purgatory, Asmodeus. The twin-tailed demon was standing with her hands clasped, and Lambdadelta swore if she had been a manga character hearts would have flitted drunkenly about her head.

Asmodeus wasn't alone, though. Standing next to her was the second youngest stake, Beelzebub.

Urgh. Young children like that weren't even worth her time. The only stakes Lambdadelta liked were Lucifer, who was mature and fun to tease because she blushed, Leviathan, who was really easy to make cry, and Mammon, who was fun to play cards and Cluedo with.

Asmodeus and Beelzebub were like ants compared to a great witch like Lambdadelta- and they weren't particularly interesting, either.

The Witch of Miracles pouted her cherry blossom lips.

"What are you pipsqueaks doing here?"

"Well, _I__'__m_ here because I could smell something tasty!" said Beelzebub, hovering near the plate of cookies on the table.

"You could smell the cookies all the way from wherever?" asked Beatrice, brow raised. "I'm impressed."

"And I'm rather flattered," said Ronove.

"Geez. What were you, a police dog in a past life?" asked Lambdadelta.

"Nah. I'm just hungry. Like, all the time."

"No surprises there, then." Lambdadelta turned to Asmodeus, stabbing the spoon Ronove had used to stir her tea at her general direction. "And why are you here, shorty?"

Virgilia looked at Lambdadelta with half-lidded eyes, smiling softly.

My, my. Between Beatrice and Lambdadelta, she really _was_surrounded by hypocrites.

"U-um… I came here… because I heard about your relationship with Lady Bernkastel, Lady Lambdadelta…"

"Oh. Are we _that_famous?"

"Y-yes, I think so!" Asmodeus giggled shyly, twisting a pigtail round one finger. "And… Aaah, the idea of being in love with somebody like that… I-I want to experience it some day, too. U-um…" She blushed. "N-not with another girl, but maybe with a nice, handsome prince…"

"There is a shortage of them around here," said Lambdadelta dryly.

"What about Ronove? He makes delectabubble food!~" said Beelzebub, latching onto Ronove's side like a limpet. "I couldn't do without 'im!~ Tehehe~ Om nom nom~"

"I'm sure he's charmed, but Ronove doesn't like girls," shot back Lambdadelta. "It's so _obvious_."

"Oh, that's okay! I don't like guys, either! I just like food!"

"U-um… I-I think, maybe… I-I'm a little jealous of you, Lady Lambdadelta," said Asmodeus, smiling. "I-it sounds so lovely, to care for somebody so much you can't stand to be without them…"

"_It__'__s__not_."

Strangely enough… Beatrice and Lambdadelta had said that together, in perfect synchrony.

They looked at each other, surprised.

Did they have _that_ much in common…?

It was Beatrice who turned away first, face flushed pink once more.

Ahaha~ She must have been thinking about _him_ again.

It was partially because of Beatrice's lovesick state Lambdadelta had chosen to spend time with the Golden Witch. Furfur had told her she should stay away from Bernkastel- but that was really, really difficult. It was almost impossible. So, to make herself feel better, Lambdadelta had been having regular tea parties with Beatrice and her furniture. Looking at Beatrice's sad little face as she pined over her prince charming made Lambdadelta feel less stupid for feeling so strongly for Bern.

Still, Lambdadelta wasn't sure if she 'loved' Bernkastel. Her feelings certainly weren't based on pure, fairytale images like Beatrice's were, and Asmodeus' innocent dreams.

Lambdadelta didn't expect Bernkastel to rescue her from those cold, dark, endless nightmares of logic errors. That would be beyond selfish. Bernkastel had enough problems of her own. She might have broken if Lambdadelta heaped her own problems onto of Bernkastel's already hefty pile.

But Lambdadelta _did_know she felt miserable when Bernkastel wasn't around.

It was almost as if somebody had ripped her heart out and kicked it several times, before dumping it into a trash can.

Even when Bernkastel was cruel, or spurned her advances, Lambdadelta still liked being with her.

Maybe, then, it would have been fair to say… that foolishness like that was really 'love'.

"I just miss my Bern."

Lambdadelta's voice had none of its childish cheer. Instead, she sounded sad; truly sad.

Her head fell against the table top with a dull _thump_.

"If you miss her such a great deal, perhaps you should talk to her?" suggested Virgilia warmly.

Even though Lambdadelta was a cruel, sadistic witch, she still looked like a young child, so it was difficult for Virgilia not to sympathize with her.

"I would, usually, but Furfur said I should stay away. And, it's not like I trust that demon or anything, but… haha. Maybe, I'll wait a little longer. And see what happens."

"And if nothing happens?" asked Beelzebub thoughtlessly.

Beatrice, a fellow girl in love, shot Beelzebub a cold look for her cruel comment. Beatrice and Lambdadelta didn't get along on many counts, but Beatrice would gladly jump in to defend anybody who felt as terrible as she did for the exact same reason.

"If nothing changes then I go back to Bern and keep following her for the rest of eternity. I know I'll wear her down eventually. I have faith in my cute face. It'll see me through!"

"Ooh… Not giving up for the sake of love… T-that's so romantic!" said Asmodeus happily.

"Or it's called stalking," said Beelzebub cheerfully.

Lambdadelta scowled.

"Beato, your furniture is so _rude_! Then again…" Lambdadelta smirked, looking Beatrice up and down. "I would expect that from _them_, given they've been raised by an unruly little kid like you."

Beatrice's face flushed. "M-my furniture are perfectly well behaved, they're just-"

"I-I can't believe you ate all of Ronove's cookies, Beelze, you greedy pig! I-I'm going to get you for that! I'll smash your head from your shoulders, you see if I don't!"

"U-uwaaaah! Satan! Where did you come from? D-don't kill me- Mammon ate some, too!"

"Mammon's not even here, you **liar**!"

"K-kyaaaaah! Asmo, Asmo- give your life for me! Be a human shield!"

"E-eh? Why me?"

"Because you're the youngest!"

Beatrice's words were left unsaid.

She sighed, and placed a hand to her temple.

Maybe Lambdadelta was right.

* * *

><p>When Bernkastel awoke that day she found herself all alone, in a bed that felt far too large. Was that because she'd been sharing it with Lambda far too often, for candy and cake filled sleepovers with idle story telling and hair braiding?<p>

The thought was so sickening Bernkastel felt like laughing at herself. How on earth had she become so roped up in Lambdadelta's little games, anyway? She didn't need anybody; she didn't rely on anyone. She was like an alley cat, slinking in between the shadows.

She didn't want to become domesticated. She didn't want to curl up besides Lambdadelta, or purr when she was fed cake from the prongs of a fork.

She certainly didn't want to wear a collar.

Maybe, if her bed had been smaller, she wouldn't have felt the need to have somebody to share it with.

Bernkastel shuddered, curling up on herself in a tight ball. She felt cold; horribly cold. The covers of her bed were warm, but that warmth wouldn't penetrate through into the icy chill that settled, like frost, inside her.

It didn't help.

Curling into the foetal position only heightened her sense of being alone. It didn't make her feel any warmer, either.

She couldn't stop shivering.

Why… couldn't she stop shivering… …?

She wasn't used to being alone anymore. Lambdadelta had ensured that. Despite Bernkastel's wishes, that irritating girl, with her large smile and sharp, sharks' teeth, had wormed her way into her life as a maggot buries its fleshly body into a cold corpse.

Bernkastel had been content to exist in a state of self-imposed solidarity for the rest of her life. Or, rather, she hadn't been _content_, per say, but…

But she had felt safer by herself.

A lot, lot safer.

People lied to you, and they built up your expectations, and they then disappointed you at each and every turn.

Even people you trusted.

It was even _worse _if you trusted somebody.

That made the betrayal sting even more.

Bernkastel knew, she knew from experience. She could still remember Auaurora, she could still remember _that__place_; she could still remember being trapped.

Repeating an endless cycle for one thousand years.

Hopeless; it was all… hopeless… …

Bernkastel knew miracles did not exist, but even so, it was a real miracle that she had survived at all. Or, at least, her _body_had.

The moment she escaped from that hellish nightmare Auaurora had constructed about her she vowed she would never become entangled with other people ever again. She would only get hurt- and the thought of being hurt that badly once more was enough to make her whole body spasm.

Sometimes Bernkastel wanted to tear out her own eyes so she didn't have to look at the ugly world she lived in.

Spoons were all fine for drinking soup, but you could also use them for gouging eyeballs, couldn't you?

Disillusioned, disturbed, and- yes, admittedly, pathetically _scared_, Bernkastel had retreated into herself. She had hoped to drift aimlessly through the sea of _kakera_ forever. She wanted to lose herself in that black sea studded with shimmering crystals; lose herself amongst an endless abyss of humanity's collective hopes and dreams.

She didn't need other people.

She didn't _want_ other people.

And then Lambdadelta had found her.

Lambdadelta had _followed _her. She had chased at the heels of her shoes from world to world like a second shadow, sticking to her like glue- or, as Lambdadelta would say, 'super paper'.

She refused to leave.

"I'll never let you go, Bern~ Not now, not ever. You're _mine_."

At first, Bernkastel feared Lambdadelta.

The fear wore away quite quickly.

After that, she hated her.

She didn't know what she felt about Lambdadelta now.

It was too confusing. Pondering her feelings and picking through the trash heap disorganized thoughts took far too long, and Bernkastel didn't want to dirty her hands on thoughts and feelings of Lambdadelta any longer.

Bernkastel didn't want to think about how she felt too much.

So she didn't.

And then, without realizing it, Lambdadelta's company became almost… natural.

It felt _right_when Lambdadelta was by her side. That persistent witch had hounded her for so long that Bernkastel couldn't even imagine a world without Lambdadelta in it now.

She couldn't imagine sipping tea by without being serenaded by the sound of Lambda's cries as she claimed there wasn't enough sugar in it.

She couldn't imagine sitting down in a corner and reading a book without Lambda's fingers idly coiling through her blue hair the whole while.

She couldn't imagine sleeping without Lambda's arms wrapped around her, keeping her safe.

Suffocating her.

Lambdadelta's presence kept Bernkastel grounded. It let her know she was still alive, she still _existed_, and that she was still wanted. Lambdadelta's company was strange and unsettling, she always lied and she made Bernkastel feel uncomfortable, she wasn't sincere in her words and her speech dripped with enough honey to catch an army of flies, and Bernkastel didn't like her, she swore she didn't.

But, at the same time, she…

She…

Bernkastel knew she might have been bent and broken, undeniably twisted; deriving pleasure from harming others and watching as the fairytales of young maids spiralled out of their control into terrible tragedies and murder mysteries-

But somebody still loved her.

Or, at least, somebody claimed they did.

And… …

Was that enough?

Was it enough… to make her _happy_?

Bernkastel's lip curled. That was all wrong. She should have been happy that Lambdadelta wasn't there. She should have been happy that the stupid (but Lambda wasn't stupid; not at all), childish (but that was only an act), irritating (yes, she was most of the time, but…) witch had finally decided to leave her alone.

And yet, all the same…

The bed really _was_ empty without somebody else beside her.

And, at the end of that painful internal monologue, that was the only solid conclusion Bernkastel was able to draw.

Everything else was still a mystery shrouded in fog.


	4. Part o4

**Love**** is ****Pain  
><strong>Part Four

* * *

><p>Fifteen days (more or less), and still Lambdadelta hadn't spoken to Bernkastel. In fact, Lambda's steadfast attempts to avoid Bernkastel might have been good for one thing. They inspired Bernkastel to at least attempt to keep track of the time.<p>

Humans might have measured time in days or minutes against a calendar or a watch. That was not so for Bernkastel. She measured time in the amount of days it had been since Lambdadelta spoke to her.

Was that pathetic? Was that needy?

It didn't matter.

Bernkastel didn't care.

She couldn't explain how she felt. It was all jumbled and confusing, and poking around inside the swirling contents of her head stung terribly, like dashing salt water against an open wound.

But one thing was clear.

Lambdadelta's absence had affected her quite badly. That much was immediately obvious just by looking at her appearance.

One didn't even need to dig around Bernkastel's her heart to see how she was feeling. Her emotions were displayed all across her face.

Bernkastel's skin was ashen and pale. Ugly purple marks surrounded her eyes. She couldn't concentrate on anything because she constantly expected, or maybe even hoped, that Lambdadelta would interrupt her by saying stupid things in that childish way of hers'.

But she never did.

Now, Bernkastel couldn't even sleep properly.

She felt like a cat who had been thrown out by its master onto the street- and although that comparison worried her (Lambdadelta was not her _master_; of course she wasn't!), she couldn't deny there were shards of truth buried in that painful realization.

Bernkastel… … missed Lambdadelta.

If she stated it as a fact, her words would have dripped bloodily with the same red truth witches used in their games.

Bernkastel didn't feel _right_ without Lambdadelta. It was almost like part of her was missing. After all, a monotonous person like her couldn't exist without something bright and silly and childish and colorful to offset her own dreary way of looking at the world.

They complimented each other.

Bernkastel had never realized it before, given Lambdadelta never left her side, but… …

She didn't like being alone.

It made her think too much of _that_ place.

It… was _painful_.

So, even she needed somebody, hmn?

Urgh.

How annoying.

That pissed her off. It made her feel _sick_- sick right to the stomach. She wanted to take those stupid feelings out of her chest and tear them out with her fingernails, just like a gardener would rip out weeds from a flowerbed. She didn't care if she got blood and soil over her fingers or her nails ripped off from the root- she didn't even care if she bled to _death_; she just didn't want to feel this… this _sentimental_anymore, she didn't want…

S-she…

"O-ow…"

She had a headache.

Bernkastel winced, pressing a hand against her head to stave off the dull, crushing pain. It felt like somebody had been beating her head against a brick wall.

Maybe she should go to bed. Curl up in on herself and feel lonely.

Haha. Maybe she should just curl up and die.

"Aaah~ The pain of two lovers, separated by naught but their own pride, is a terrible thing, isn't it?"

Who… was that?

Bernkastel recognized that voice; but it was far too low to be Lambdadelta's high, girlish tones. It sounded mocking.

Who dared to mock her?

Maybe it was some lowly demon who didn't understand her status, or their place. Well, she'd teach them. She'd teach them why she was called the cruellest witch.

She'd tear them apart.

Bernkastel lifted her head. It felt heavy, and took more effort than it should have done. This only made her angrier.

With eyes narrowed dangerously- a stark contrast to the expressionless, impenetrable mask she usually wore- Bernkastel glared at the foolish person who _dared_interrupt her when she was feeling miserable.

She was met with a mess of blue hair, gaudy clothes, too much jewellery. Wide, bright blue eyes. A large smile.

It was Zepar, one of the demons of love.

"How _marvellous_," said Bernkastel coldly. "My kitties are getting restless. I think they would like somebody to use as a scratching post."

"Aaaah, you wouldn't be so cruel!" said Zepar theatrically, throwing their arms wide. They acted as if they were on stage, so everything looked and sounded stilted, unnatural. It was almost as if they were waiting for applause. "I'm only trying to help!"

Bernkastel wasn't one to be fooled by pretty lies so easily. How many people would have wanted to 'help' her, anyway? It was laughable. The only person who even cared, or at least, said they did with the most persistence, wasn't there.

"You don't help people. You're a demon," said Bernkastel. Her voice was icy as the skin of a long-drowned corpse. "Demons are only contracted to obey certain witches. Demons who don't serve as furniture cannot be trusted."

"Ooh~ Sharp one, you are. Then again, I'd expect nothing less from the great Lady Bernkastel."

"You flatter me. Now leave me alone if you know what's good for you."

Zepar sighed deeply, clasping their hands at their chest. With a distant, far-off look in their eyes, as though they were a fair princess staring from the window of a tower, Zepar said, "If only I were able to distinguish what's good for me and what isn't! Love makes people blind- and, yes… even I can fall a victim to its cruel charms… Aah, it's so sad- so tragic!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Furfur- my darling Furfur! We had an argument, and we haven't spoken since! Aaah, it's so tragic! It's so upsetting I could cry!"

"If you must, do it somewhere else," said Bernkastel stiffly. It sounded as though her words had contracted rigor mortis. "I am too tired to converse with the likes of you. If you don't leave I'll drown you in strawberry milkshake and drink it out of your waterlogged body with a straw."

Zepar sighed petulantly, but they were still grinning. Bernkastel didn't think the demons of love had the required muscles in their cheeks _to_frown.

"So you won't even spare me some sympathy, although our situations are so familiar… That's sad, that's truly sad- especially when Lady Lambdadelta has been _sooo_nice to my lovely Furfur, who is surely suffering just as much as me!"

"Is that so…?"

Bernkastel tried to retain her monotonous tone. However, against her better judgement, she found herself sitting up a little straighter. Her tail twitched.

She didn't like the implications behind Zepar's words.

She didn't like them at all.

"Hmn? You don't knooowww?~" Zepar smirked. "Lady Lambdadelta has been spending a lot of time with Furfur lately. Apparently, they've become quite close."

…'Close?'

Unbidden, Bernkastel's fingers balled into fists. Her fingernails dug small crescent moon shapes into her palms, but she didn't notice. If she had noticed, she wouldn't have cared.

A strange, alien emotion had begun to bubble up inside her chest. Although she was loathe to admit it, she found she could give it a name quite easily. It was one of those disgusting human emotions she would mock others for displaying, and exploit to her heart's content for the purposes of creating a fun game; alleviating her boredom.

She had never expected _she_would experience this exact same emotion.

"Yes, that's right~ Isn't it tragic, when it turns out the one you love isn't as dependant on you as you are on them?"

There was a horrible, writhing pain in Bernkastel's head. It felt as though her mind was filled with scorpions.

She didn't want to talk.

She couldn't…

"B-be quiet."

She tried to sound calm, but her voice betrayed her by shaking slightly.

She could stutter in front of Lambdadelta on occasions, but when she displayed that side of her personality around others, she felt… exposed. Weak. Just like that foolish young miko all over again.

But Zepar didn't stop talking.

If anything, they began to speak even louder.

"You're already aware, of course, that Lady Lambdadelta is rather good at winning the affections of others. Despite her antagonistic role in the upcoming games orchestrated by Lady Beatrice, she gets along with Beatrice remarkably well… and her furniture. Lady Lambdadelta is always spending time with them when she isn't with you. And who can _you_ speak to when she's away?"

"I already told you to be quiet."

"Aaaaahahaha~ It's a shame, isn't it, a real shame? Lady Lambdadelta can still talk to people, can still trust people, even after what happened to her! You can't do that, though, can youuuu?~ Your initial reaction is to hate and everybody, to the point where Lady Lambdadelta is the only one who will talk to you!"

"B-be quiet…"

"And, what'll you do if Lady Lambdadelta leaves you, hmmm, or decides she's had enough?~ You'll be _aaaaall _alone again, and nobody will care even if you live or die because you've pushed them all away~ You might as well be back inside that twisted universe made by Lady Featherine, right? You might as well be _dead_! If nobody loves you what's the point in being alive? Gyahahahaha-"

"S-shut up! J-just shut up! W-what do you know, anyway?"

The voice that shouted that sounded foreign.

It was too loud; raw; emotional- exactly the kind of thing Bernkastel scorned stupid humans for, because when they let their hearts take over like that they really were easy to manipulate. Humans were just pieces compared to witches. They couldn't even control themselves. How pathetic, how useless, how tragic- _gyahahaha_!~

Bernkastel was a witch, and she was superior to humans, so she did not experience excesses of emotion like that. Nobody could control her other than herself.

She wasn't a weak human anymore.

Bernkastel always had a firm control over her heart. That allowed her to judge everybody else, chewing popcorn and smirking as she did so. She was sat on a pedestal so high nobody could reach her, not even with the tips of their fingers.

But… maybe that was wrong…

Maybe… she wanted somebody to reach her…

Why else would she have been so upset?

Why else… was her heart beating so quickly?

Why else did her eyes sting?

Bernkastel might not even have realized that voice belonged to her, had each word forced from her lips not hurt her throat so much.

Bernkastel was breathing heavily, her face dusted with the light pink icing of an angry blush. Her eyes were wider than usual, and her mouth was twisted up into an ugly grimace. It looked like the second, rather more _expressive_, side of her personality- the side she always tried to repress- had finally been brought to the surface.

She could hear the blood pounding in her head; taste the bile at the back of her throat. She felt dizzy. Sick.

She hated Zepar.

But, most of all…

At times like this, she hated herself.

She hated herself for being so weak.

The demon's words were true.

They were all true.

Bernkastel had always assumed Lambdadelta would stay by her side forever, regardless of what cruel things she said or did. Lambdadelta was reliable only in her persistence; always following her, always, always, _always_... and, somewhere along the line, Bernkastel had grown to accept that.

She had grown… to like it…

Maybe even need it.

Because she was pathetic.

"Hey..." said Zepar quietly. "You'll have to forgive me for being cruel- but that's often the best way to make stubborn people listen. You need to slap them around the head a few times with your words, or they won't understand.

"But you know," Zepar continued, "it's really not too late. All you need to do is talk to her… and I'm sure this silly problem could be resolved. Yes; relationships would be infinitely simpler if both parties would communicate more… Fufu~"

Bernkastel glowered, no longer bothering to hide her twisted expression of disgust. Her calm mask had long since been shattered, so there was no point struggling to repair the damage.

"And why should I, the Witch of Miracles, take advice from _you_?"

"Oh, no reason~" Zepar giggled, coiling strands of hair around one finger. "Not unless you want your foolish pride, and your inability to communicate truthfully, to come between you and the only person you care about..."

Bernkastel winced.

"Hoh~ I know you're used to Lady Lambdadelta seeking you out, Lady Bernkastel, but isn't that selfish? Isn't that one-sided? Love can't work like that without both sides trying their best, trying to become one…~ Fufufu~ In this case… I believe you're the one who has to find her first. Talk to her… and you'll no longer have cause to be miserable. Wouldn't having a heartfelt discussion be a wonderful thing? Wouldn't it, though? Isn't that what you want?"

Bernkastel looked down at the floor, arms folded. Her lips were pursed, as though she had just bitten into a particularly sour lemon. Her long, blue hair fell before her face, bangs casting shadows over her eyes.

Those shadows were a good thing. It meant that Zepar couldn't see the unguarded look in her eyes…

And it meant Zepar would never know just how much those words had stung her.

F-for a great witch like her, to be reduced to a plaything by a demon… I-it was _beyond_ insulting. Bernkastel wanted to summon her kittens from the darkness, with their glowing eyes and salivating mouths, and tear Zepar apart limb from limb for their insolence.

A-and yet, at the same time… …

Really… she still had a headache, and her insides were cold and twisted together, and that bitter jealousy still burnt inside her poor, broken heart… and, yes, being honest with herself… she just wanted somebody to distract her from all her horrible memories, of one thousand years of trying to break fate.

She just… wanted to be with Lambdadelta again.

Because she really was that desperate.

* * *

><p>"Hello, Lady Lambdadelta. How are you finding yourself on this fine, lovely day?~ Fufufu~"<p>

Lambdadelta had been lying on her back upon her candy strewn bed, idly kicking her legs back and forth and pouting at the ceiling. At the sound of that all-too-familiar voice, however, she turned about, so she was now resting on her tummy. With narrowed eyes, still wearing the same childish pout as always, Lambdadelta glared at the demon of love who had dared interrupt her depression.

She glared at them _hard_.

Fortunately, Furfur was used to being glared at, and had developed a rather effective defensive mechanism for just such outfits. Their gaudy, tasteless, bright green and yellow outfit was far too much for the eye to take in at once. Looking at it for extended periods of time was like looking directly at the sun.

It would make you go _blind_.

Therefore, despite Lambdadelta's best efforts to be intimidating, she couldn't hold the glare for long.

"Urgh…"

Wincing, Lambdadelta turned her head away. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, trying to dispel any lingering green and yellow spots that had seeped across her vision.

"You know," she witch muttered, "you really _should_ think about changing your color scheme."

"Oh?~ What's wrong with it?"

"It's **painful**."

"But you wear-"

"I know I wear a lot of pink, but it's offset by my amazingly fashionable black gloves~ People don't go blind looking at me; they just think 'awww, how cute!'" Lambdadelta flipped a few strands of blonde hair out of her face airily. "This outfit has the Gaap seal of approval, you know, so your comments about it don't mean anything."

"Is Gaap's fashion sense really that good? Well, I wonder…"

Laughing softly, Furfur walked towards Lambdadelta with a slow gait and took a seat beside her on the bed. The mattress sunk down a little to accommodate the extra weight, and some of the boiled candies rolled off the blankets and on to the floor.

"So." Furfur smiled. "How are things between yourself and Lady Bernkastel?"

There was a small silence.

Then, with a wail, Lambdadelta snagged hold of her favorite, pinkest, softest pillow, and crushed it to her chest helplessly. She held on to it like a baby would hold onto a blanket.

"Oh." Furfur sighed. "That badly, hmn?"

"You could say that! You could say that, even though I've been ignoring her for ages and ages, and making myself miserable, she doesn't seem to care… S-she hasn't come to see me once… _Hic_." Sniff, sniff. "U-uwaaaah…! I think I'm getting withdrawal symptoms!"

"Oh my! That doesn't sound healthy!"

"I-it's not! I-it really isn't! I'm seriously dying!"

Lambdadelta blinked up at Furfur with wide, earnest red eyes. Her irises weren't the only red things, however. The rims of her eyes were red, too- and they were puffy, from all her crying.

Some people might have thought Lambdadelta was only pretending to cry about her supposed misery- mainly because she liked being melodramatic about things. She never took anything seriously; not even herself, or her own emotions.

However, those red eyes, and that flushed face, and that running nose, all looked genuine.

Lambdadelta would never degrade herself like that in public, or deliberately try to look small and frail- not in front of a demon like Furfur. The trails of silvery tears trickling down her face, as though so many slugs had tracked a path down her cheeks, were real.

They had to be.

So was her sore throat, shaking limbs and pale skin.

Poor Lambda looked as though she was falling apart. That pillow, clutched to her chest, was the only thing she had left to hold on to.

"I-I don't even care anymore!" Lambdadelta suddenly declared, throwing her pillow aside roughly. "I'm sick of tired of ignoring my lovely Bern, and I want to talk to her right now! T-that's right! I'm going to go over there and-"

"No."

"H-huh?"

Lambdadelta had made to stand up on shaky legs, and was striking a serious pose; hands on hips, head held high. However, she was unable to actually leave the room.

That was because Furfur's fingers were clasped round her arm.

"What. Are. You. _Doing_?"

Lambdadelta's voice was clipped and cold- almost demonic.

When she turned to look at Furfur… there was a truly fearsome expression twisting her cute face. She no longer looked like a harmless child. Her lips were drawn back in a snarl, like a wolf's, and her eyes were blazing like those of a Jack-o'-Lanterns'.

Even Furfur had to tremble slightly upon witnessing that face.

But they still didn't let go.

"You can't leave right now."

"What do you mean, I can't?" hissed Lambdadelta through gritted teeth. "Who died and made _you_ the Princess of the Universe? Or… Prince? Or… I don't even know! I don't know what the hell you are, and I don't care! Whatever! I don't want to take your advice anymore- I just want to see Bern!"

"But you haven't been waiting long enough to see the fruits of your hard work. If you're patient for just a few more moments, I am sure-"

"You're sure about what? That I could make myself even more miserable, and

look even more pathetic? Is that what you want? To laugh at me?"

"I certainly don't want that- it was never my intention to laugh!"

"Then why do you look so damn happy most of the time, then? Why you smile, it makes me want to tear your lips from your face! I bet you were just messing around with my feelings this whole time for your enjoyment! If that's true, I'll drown you under a mountain of cake- and not even _nice_cake; don't think I won't!"

Lambdadelta knew her threats were getting a little ridiculous, but she was an excessive person. It was simply how she was. And, if she was feared by other witches despite the excessive amount of pink she wore, her childish tone of voice and her obsession with cake-related death threats, then her real temper really was a force to be reckoned with.

Furfur knew that, and that was why the theatrical bravado fell away from their face. Now, they were meek, and they stammered slightly.

"I think you should reconsider, Lady Lambdadelta. You have to wait to see how Lady Bernkastel reacts; she'll only realize her true feelings if you avoid her, because she's rather dense, and-"

"D-don't call my Bern dense! Only I can say things like that about her! G-get off me!"

"No; you're being unreasonable… I just want to help…!"

Lambdadelta let out a harsh laugh, in a series of giggles that crept up the spine like fingertips. Each giggle tapped on a separate section of the vertebrae, and left all who heard it cold.

There was something… not entirely sane about that laugh.

But when Lambdadelta spoke, her voice was soft.

Too soft.

"I'm being unreasonable?~ Me?~ Hehehehe… Well…"

Her eyes narrowed; chest heaving and falling. Her hat had fallen off her head, revealing messy blonde hair, and her whole body twitched with anger, nervous energy.

But… she didn't look angry anymore…

Not really.

Instead, her lips were drawn into a small frown…

And it looked like she was crying.

"Maybe I'm being _unreasonable_ because the person I like will never return my feelings, no matter what I do! Maybe I've just _given__ up _on making her realize when I say I care I'm not lying, because no matter what I do she'll think I'm making it up! Maybe… M-maybe I've realized I'm in love, and my love will never be reciprocated, so it might as well not even exist! T-that's how I feel!"

When Lambdadelta pushed Furfur away this time, the demon of love didn't try to retain grip on Lambda's arm.

Silence descended upon the room. It was a thick, heavy, oppressive silence; so strong it seemed to physically weigh down upon Lambdadelta's shoulders… and also, on her chest… her ribcage… her lungs… and her heart.

It was difficult to breathe.

It felt like her heart was being crushed.

Her eyelids squeezed together so tightly it was almost painful, forcing tears to trickle down her cheeks hotly. Her hair stuck to her flustered face.

Love… Bernkastel… …?

It was true…

She really did…

S-she really…

A-and…

And Bern would never know- because she would never understand- because she was _broken_… and maybe she was too broken to be in love at all…

Maybe it was selfish to think she could.

M-maybe…

M-maybe…

"I… I…"

Lambdadelta sniffed, burying her head in her hands. She knew her whole body was shaking. She wondered, if she trembled hard enough, her bones would be knocked out of place and she would fall apart. She could end up like a quivering mess on the floor; a bright pink, Halloween-themed Lady Lambdadelta jelly…

Ahahaha…

Gyahahahahaha…

Not even Beato was that pitiful.

"I-I… I…"

Lambdadelta didn't even know what she was trying to say- and the words wouldn't come, anyway. She couldn't talk. She could only stand there, sobbing… just like a small child.

Useless.

_Pathetic_…

She really was…

"…pathetic, Lambda… I didn't know you had this side to your character, too."

H-huh…?

Lambdadelta's breath caught in her throat.

Her eyes snapped open.

Her hands fell from her face.

Somebody was standing behind her...

And they were hugging her.

Holding her tightly- as if they were trying to make sure she didn't fall apart.


	5. Part o5

**Love ****is ****Pain  
><strong>Part Five

* * *

><p>Lambdadelta knew that voice.<p>

She knew that smell.

She even knew that lovely blue hair, which was now falling against her back and over her shoulders.

It was the same hair she would sit and run her fingers through when she was bored. She would plait and twist it into intricate styles and pepper it with candy, not because she had any aspirations of being a stylist (not like Gaap), but because it felt _nice_ being that close to her. It felt nice when her gentle ministrations weren't rejected. It felt nice being able to delude herself her feelings were reciprocated because sometimes- just sometimes- she didn't push her hands away.

When Lambdadelta spoke, her voice was quiet; barely louder than the sound made by a butterfly's beating wings.

"B-bern…?"

But the person hugging her still heard it all the same.

The Witch of Miracles didn't respond verbally. Lambdadelta had no way of knowing this, but the look on Bern's face suggested that she physically_couldn__'__t_. The words wouldn't come even when she opened her mouth. So Bernkastel only nodded.

It was still enough.

Lambdadelta couldn't see her expression, but she could feel Bern nod- and she could also feel it when Bernkastel's arms tightened round her waist just a little more, in a slightly… possessive… gesture?

Or maybe it was meant to be comforting.

_It's alright. Don't be sad. I'm here… see…?_

Ahaha… But at this point, Lambdadelta was just putting words into Bern's mouth.

She was indulging herself with dreams that would never come true. There was no crueller torture than hoping on hopes that would never come true.

Even Beato knew that.

Bernkastel would never say something kind and soothing. She wasn't that sort of person. She would never say…

"Hey…"

Bernkastel's voice was uncertain, unsteady. She obviously didn't know what to say, how to say it- and she wasn't used to comforting people, least of all Lambdadelta, least of all… people who _loved_ her… so her voice sounded robotic. But she was trying her best to communicate something very important.

"Don't cry. It's… … alright…"

Lambdadelta gasped, as though cold hands had been pressed against the back of her neck.

"B-bern…?"

W-was it possible that Bernkastel, the cruellest witch, who would never say anything sentimental or emotional, and who couldn't even experience or _understand_such feelings, was actually trying to comfort her?

Despite her tear-stained cheeks, Lambdadelta found her lips curving into a small, self-deprecating smile.

Miracles were impossible, weren't they? So wasn't this scene impossible?

Lambdadelta would deny it. She denied it ever happened. This was the sort of thing pitiful humans did when didn't want to accept how cruel and tragic the reality of being alone and despised was.

They made imaginary friends.

Was this scene some kind of hallucination?

Maybe, thought Lambdadelta, she was still inside that place after all. Maybe she had never made it out of that logic error, and this was just a happy dream. A last comfort created by somebody with nothing left. It was a fantasy created by a witch… who couldn't accept reality.

Ahaha. Was that… ironic?

Lambdadelta tried to stop crying, she really did, but-

B-but-

W-well.

Some things were impossible, after all.

She couldn't stop herself.

"Don't cry." Bernkastel's voice was a little sharper this time. "You're not that pathetic, are you, Lambdadelta?"

"H-haa?" Lambdadelta sniffed, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. "Pathetic…? Yeah, maybe… B-but even I get sad sometimes, you know… E-even if you can't understand-"

"I can understand."

"Bern…?"

"Or, at least…" Bernkastel bit her lower lip. "I think I can understand. So don't cry. There's really no need. Because you're wailing so ungracefully over a worry… that isn't true."

"W-wha'…? H-how do you know what I'm worrying about?"

"Because I _heard_you. Idiot."

"I-I'm not an idiot, I'm super paper!" And then… "A-aah…? Y-you heard? How much did you hear?"

"Some crying, some shouting… It was bad behaviour from an immature child who just wants attention, as per usual. You're so dull and predictable, you know?"

Lambdadelta's shoulders tensed.

"Oh. _Thanks_."

Her voice was bitter. Angry. _Hurt._

Bernkastel winced slightly. Were her words too harsh? But that was the only way she knew how to talk. She may have wanted Lambdadelta to be truthful… but being truthful was very difficult for Bernkastel as well.

How could she be kind and affectionate when she had only ever experienced pain and betrayal? Was it even possible?

Could a bird in a cage learn a new song?

If it couldn't… then what was the point in it being alive?

Bernkastel narrowed her eyes. This was no good. She did like Lambdadelta… and she didn't want to make her cry even more. She didn't like seeing that person, who should have been cheerful and happy, upset.

In fact, her feelings on the matter ran further than 'not liking' it.

She hated it.

Lambdadelta had to happy… because it made _her_feel happier, too. Or, if that wasn't the case- then it at least made her feel less empty.

She couldn't let Lambda leave her.

She couldn't let Lambda hate her.

She _couldn__'__t_.

If she did… maybe even a heartless person like Bernkastel would learn just how much it hurt to cry over somebody who didn't care for her tears.

"I heard that you said… you loved me…"

"Yeah, _so_?"

Bernkastel faltered. Had her words really hurt Lambda that much? Had her own selfish actions… led to Lambda being in this pitiful state? Had she pained that childish witch who was much, much better at being happy than her?

Bernkastel was only one of the many people Lambdadelta knew… so why did _her_ words matter so much? It wasn't like Lambda didn't have other friends. She was cute, she was friendly, and she was likable.

She wasn't like Bernkastel.

Lambdadelta wouldn't be alone if Bernkastel left her.

But Bern would.

So… why did Lambda care about her so much… …?

Was it because of that feeling?

Could she really…?

Was it… true…?

Bernkastel hardly dared believe it. She was used to being uncared for, even despised, or feared. She was used to being unhappy. But…

"What do you mean, 'so'?"

"Well… M-my feelings don't really matter, do they, Bern? Hehehe~"

Lambdadelta's laugh was light and girlish, but it was offset by the way she shaking, and the tears trickling down her face. It didn't sound right- it didn't sound right at all. It was painful to listen to; painful in a way that made Bernkastel want to claw out Lambda's throat.

She was lying again.

"Lambda…"

But Lambdadelta wouldn't listen. At this point, she couldn't. Her face flushed bright red… and she began to shout. Her voice was raw- and it sounded like each word hurt as it forced its way from her throat.

"My feelings don't matter because you can't understand them and you can't return them! So why are you asking me how I feel? Why are you pretending that you care? I know that's impossible and you never could!"

There was a small silence- but it wasn't comforting. It was cold and it made Bernkastel's skin prickle. It was sort of silence that would resound at the end of a war. After the rattling of guns had ceased, and the sounds of screaming, gasping, dying had gutted out into a dark oblivion… there would be nobody left. So there wouldn't be any noise.

But it wouldn't be a pleasant silence.

It was a silence that existed because the only ones who could break it had been hurt too badly to speak anymore.

But the sound of Lambdadelta's heavy breathing was, after some time, able to shatter the temporary illusion of grave, deathly quiet.

Lambdadelta collapsed against Bernkastel's arms like a pile of rags. She was no longer a proud witch. Instead, she was a miserable creature that couldn't support its own weight. And Bernkastel noticed, despite Lambdadelta's anger from earlier, she hadn't pulled away from her tight embrace.

She hadn't even tried.

Lambdadelta's voice was hoarse and broken… and far too quiet. It was too sincere for such a melodramatic person.

"Ahaha.~ Why are you… hugging me…? Are you just trying to mess around with me? Is this some kind of punishment? If that's true… then t-this is… T-this…" A sigh; a quiet hiccup, as though she was going to cry again. "T-this illusion is really mean, Bern. This is the meanest thing you could ever do… playing around with my feelings like that…

"B-but, even if you don't understand how I feel… I-I don't want to leave you… A-and if you're going to pretend you care about me, a-and it's not even real, then… that's fine. A-and I'll accept it. And take it. Because… I-I don't want you to leave me."

There were real tears now. Her voice was thick, almost inaudible.

"B-because… I-it's because… I'm an idiot. A-and I keep hoping you'll understand… And m-maybe you'll accept me. B-but even if you don't, I'll still follow you around because… because…"

A thick, painful gasp. It sounded like she was choking. Lambdadelta's head fell forwards; hands gripping Bernkastel's own, clasped around her front.

"Because _I__love__you_."

There was another long silence. It played against a gentle backdrop of Lambdadelta crying, and trying to wipe those embarrassing tears away with the back of her hands. She rubbed her eyes so much they were red raw.

Did Lambdadelta laugh and shout and contort her face into hideous expressions so often... to hide this softer side of her character…?

Did she do it to protect herself?

Bernkastel's eyes widened slightly in surprise- and then welled with compassion.

If that was true, then Lambdadelta wasn't all that different from her, with her emotionless mask- and those empty purple eyes.

They weren't that different.

And, although Bernkastel pretended otherwise, she couldn't deny it; not anymore.

They _needed _each other.

She had been unhappy when Lambda left her, too…

And so, although she wasn't very good with words, she would try and communicate her feelings. She would do her best. Because she didn't want Lambdadelta to cry.

Lambdadelta always comforted her. Now, Bernkastel had to try. Even though she felt awkward and unsteady like a right-handed person trying to write neatly with their left hand… she would do her best. Even if her words came out messily, sloppily or just plain wrong.

There was no shame in being wrong sometimes.

Wasn't this…?

These real tears, this soft embrace, those loving words…

Wasn't this the kind of truthful relationship she had always wanted?

Wasn't this something precious?

She would… do her best.

And she would try.

"…Don't be stupid, Lambda."

"I-I know I'm being stupid. Y-you don't need to tell me! T-there's a limit to how cruel you can be with a young girl's heart, you know. Hahaha~"

"But you're being even stupider than usual. Because you never thought, that there might be the slightest possibility that I… I-I…. I…"

Bernkastel looked at the floor shyly, lashes trembling, tail twitching.

How funny…

So, in the end, even though she always accused Lambdadelta of being a liar, _she_was the one who couldn't express her real feelings.

Wasn't that pitiful?

…No.

She would tell her- she _would_. She had to…

Because she didn't want to lose the person she was holding in her arms.

Bernkastel didn't want to make that ridiculous child, who always cried and played with her hair and spoke too loudly and wore too much pink and skipped everywhere instead of walking and had an insatiable sweet tooth and crunched candies between her teeth like thunder and talked with her mouth full and would never let her concentrate when she was reading and followed her around all the time and held her when she had nightmares and told her she loved her when nobody else did and made her feel _happy_like nobody else could, cry.

She wanted to protect that person… because they meant a lot to her.

More than anybody did, or ever could.

And that was because…

"Lambda, you idiot. Why didn't it ever occur to you… that maybe… Maybe… M-maybe I… … … I… care about you… too…"

"… …H-huh?"

Lambdadelta's eyes widened to almost comic proportions, until those red, red eyes seem to eat up at least half of her face. It would have been quite funny to watch, maybe… if the look on her expression hadn't been so heart-rending and sincere.

Her lashes were spiky with tears, and light silver tracks of tears still sparkled her on cheeks.

Her brows were raised; mouth open slightly in a small 'o'; and her whole body was trembling.

For one of the first times in her life, Lambdadelta was being completely truthful. There was nothing false about the expression on her face at all. It was impossible to fake a display of emotion like that.

It was just a shame Bernkastelcouldn't see it because she was standing behind her; arms round her back, resting just under her chest. But she could still hear the ragged breathing that came from Lambdadelta's parted lips. It sounded forced. She could still hear the sound of her heartbeat, hammering against the cage of her ribs in a frantic _thud__ thud__ thud_. It sounded painful. She could still feel Lambdadelta trembling, just like a leaf in the breeze.

She felt... as though she was falling apart.

Bernkastel could tell all that just by hugging her tightly- so maybe she didn't need to see the look on her face at all.

She understood the emotions without Lambdadelta's expression just fine.

But Bernkastel wanted to make sure, all the same.

Bernkastel had never heard anybody cry over her before… so she wanted to see what sort of face that ridiculous witch stupid enough to love her would pull… when they learnt their love wasn't entirely one-sided after all.

Slowly, Bernkastel moved her arms from Lambda's middle. Then, she placed those hands on her shoulders, and gently- just as gently as if she were handling a flower- turned Lambdadelta around.

The look on the other girl's face shocked her.

She had never seen Lambda so vulnerable before, or… so helpless…

Was this really because she loved her?

She loved _her_?

"Why?"

"W-what do you mean, 'why', Bern?"

Bernkastel started slightly. She hadn't realized she'd been talking aloud. The faint look of confusion that spread across her usually stoic expression was enough, just enough, to make Lambdadelta smile ever so slightly, despite her dishevelled appearance.

That smile was worth Lambda's own weight in gold. It made Bernkastel's heart, which she always thought was black and dead, flutter slightly in her chest.

"Why do you love me?" Bernkastel asked, her voice faltering despite her best efforts to keep it steady. It trembled just like her heart, as though her voice were made from paper. "I-I don't understand. There's nothing lovable about me at all…"

"Well. I-I can't even describe it! I… I can't explain why I like cake so much, but I like you more than that… and… I like what I like and that's there all there is to it!" Lambdadelta laughed nervously, averting her eyes to the side of Bern's face.

"You know… sometimes, you just look so _lonely_ despite how cold you act. And I don't want you to feel like that. I want you to be happy, and I want you to have somebody to rely on, so you won't feel alone anymore. And then… I decided I wanted to be that person… who was always with you. Because I know what it's like to be trapped too, and I understand… why you would act so cold; especially after everything you've been through… and maybe another person wouldn't understand, because they haven't experienced something that dreadful, like I have… Maybe I'm the only one who can understand… and sympathize. A-and I want to think… that somebody needs me. So I don't feel useless. But, somewhere along the line… I think I started needing you, too."

Bernkastel couldn't breathe. It felt as though somebody had stolen all the air out of her lungs; sucked it out with a straw.

She was light-headed, almost dizzy.

She had never thought anybody would care about her like this- she never thought she was worthy… And humans were all liars, anyway. Why should she care about their false sentiments? She wasn't going to be a gullible fool anymore, hurt by her own feelings.

But, if she lived by that logic, then she would never open her heart to anybody. And she would always be alone.

And if she was alone… she might as well be back inside that world created by Auaurora.

What was the point in trying to escape, if she was going to put herself back inside the closed room of her heart with thinking like that? What was the point in trying to escape if she still pushed everybody away?

She didn't want to do that.

She… … couldn't.

"H-haaa…"

Bernkastel gasped softly as fingers, Lambda's fingers, gently cupped her cheek. Those black gloves provided a sharp contrast against Bernkastel's pale skin, like a raven's feather resting on a soft bed of perfect, immaculate, piled-up snow.

"B-bern…?" asked Lambda, cherry blossom lips parting in worry. "What's wrong…?"

"D-don't… D-don't…"

"Huh?" Lambdadelta couldn't hear, and leant in a little closer; so close, her nose almost bumped against Bern's. "What? What's wrong?"

"Don't… Don't go…"

"Aaah? What's this, what's this?~"

Smiling softly, impishly, just like usual, Lambdadelta tilted her head to one side. It was almost as if nothing had changed… but there was something warm in that smile; a love that Bernkastel rarely saw- or maybe her heart had been too closed to see it properly before.

The bits of candy in Lambdadelta's hair clinked together, just like a cup being set upon a saucer.

Lambdadelta would never know just how much her simple smile affected Bern- or how it made her small, frightened heart tremble.

"Don't go," Bernkastel repeated.

Her voice was quiet, broken, and _desperate_. She wanted to snatch up those filthy, disgusting, embarassing words and stuff them back into her mouth- but, at the same time… H-hadn't she said she wanted to be truthful?

It was easy to mock others, to scorn them, to be cruel.

But it took real strength to be gentle and kind.

Bernkastel wasn't a strong person. She was weak. So she hid from other people, and pushed them away. But Lambda was the only person who could see this side of her character…

And so she wanted Lambdadelta to know.

"I-I don't want to be alone. I-I just want you to tell the truth when you're with me… a-and… I want you to stay with me. Please."

Bernkastel's face was flushed light pink. There was no doubting the sincerity of those words… even though Lambdadelta had to pinch herself with her free hand, to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

But she didn't wake up.

Bernkastel's skin under her gloved fingers didn't alter or distort, or scatter in a chill breeze. She was still there…

Lambdadelta was still there, too, hand cupping Bern's cheek- and Bern still said, with the air of a confused young girl with a first crush, and not a thousands-year-old cruel witch incapable of feeling emotion-

"I… felt horrible when you weren't with me. And maybe I was taking your presence for granted… so I never realized… t-that…"

Bernkastel looked at Lambdadelta, eyes too wide, face too pale, trembling…

"I… I love you, too. I... really do."

Lambdadelta blinked.

She stared.

Then…

She began to giggle- very, very softly.

And she lightly flicked Bern's forehead.

"Hey… Stuu~uupid. I'm the emotional one out of us, right? I was the one who was meant to be crying. So… don't you start. Because… I'd just feel guilty. I want to make you feel happy."

"L-lambda…"

"So, don't worry."

Once more, Lambdadelta cupped Bernkastel's cheek in her hand. Tremulously, hardly daring to believe this kind of ending could exist… Lambdadelta drew just a little closer to Bern. They had kissed before, yes- but there was something more intimate about _this_. That apathetic, aloof mask had been torn from Bern's face, revealing this sad, scared young girl. Lambdadelta knew she didn't look too good either, given her eyes were red from crying, and her hair was a mess, and she kept trembling, and it didn't feel like her legs could support her anymore…

But that was fine.

Because, for once, they were both telling the truth. Even if it hurt. They told each other their real feelings anyway.

Because getting hurt was part of being in love, wasn't it…? And the pain made moments like this even sweeter.

As Lambdadelta dipped her head, she swore she could count each and every one of Bern's smoky eyelashes as they fell shut against her pale skin…

And, gently, softly, with the same pressure of falling snow landing on the ground and melting away-

Lambda leant forwards…

And pressed her lips against Bern's.

Of course, one kiss didn't make anything fine. It made _nothing_ fine. This relationship would still be horribly messed up because the two people involved in it were. And that would never change.

So there would be no 'happily ever after' ending.

But, at that moment, when Lambdadelta closed her eyes… she found she didn't care.

Because this was... perfect… just the way it was.


	6. Epilogue: Tea Party

**Love**** is ****Pain  
><strong>Epilogue

Tea Party

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in another corner of the meta world, two brightly-dressed demons were sitting down together in a strange kind of tea party. Their legs were tangled together so it was impossible to tell what limbs belonged to whom. The fingers of their free hands not holding cups of tea were linked tightly together. They both had the same pale, pale skin and wide, strikingly blue eyes, and both were grinning widely.<p>

It was the sort of grin only worn by powerful demons who knew they had nothing to fear.

Both of them looked like girls, though it was wrong to assume they were what they appeared. After all, Lambdadelta looked like a young child dressed to go trick-or-treating, but there was something very ugly hidden under her cute face. These demons weren't both female- though their genders were unknown, just like their motives.

Because of the mystery that surrounded these demons, many people feared them. Even witches were wary of their powers, so they were rarely summoned as furniture.

They couldn't be trusted.

But they weren't evil.

In fact… _they_ hardly even knew what they were. Good and evil were arbitrary terms coined by humans. They couldn't apply to demons or witches.

Humans were so simple. They wanted to divide the world plainly into good and evil, like cutting a cake down the middle. But cutting a cake evenly was also difficult; especially when it had an odd number of strawberries on the top, of differing thicknesses of icing.

Trying to divide anything in two, even physical items, was impossible. It was even more impossible when it came to vague ideals, like 'good' and 'bad'.

When would humans learn that?

They had stopped crawling around in the dirt… but they still didn't realize.

Everything on the earth contained a balance of both 'good' and 'bad'… and even purer emotions had darker undertones.

Take love, for instance.

Love was filled with gentle innocence… and dark lust. It was unclear and unpredictable. So, then… shouldn't the demons who presided over it be unpredictable, too?

Furfur giggled softly, head resting against Zepar's shoulder.

"Ahaha~ I can't believe Lady Lambdadelta actually believed that… She swallowed those lies up like a frog, fufufu~"

"Well, you _do _look exceptionally lovely when you cry," said Zepar. "I wouldn't be able to resist those tears."

"Hehe~ Thank you, thank you! You're too kind!"

Furfur bowed their head, just like a actor stood on a stage. It looked almost as if they were waiting for applause, or roses to be thrown at their feet.

"We weren't really arguing- of course we weren't~" Furfur continued, cooing softly. "I'd _die_if we had a fight, Zepar!"

"As would I, Furfur! I wouldn't be able to live without you! I wouldn't wan to!"

"Aaaah- look what love does to people! It's so sad!"

"Yes- it's so sad! Gyahahahahaha!~"

Their expressions contorted into something truly demonic; smiles so wide they seemed to split their pretty faces in two.

"But you know…" said Zepar, once their laughter had subsided, "I'm glad Lady Lambdadelta and Lady Bernkastel took our advice…"

"Yes, me too! If Lambdadelta hadn't stayed away from Bernkastel, our poor little kitty cat would _never_have realized just how deep her feelings ran…~ Ufufu…~ Bern likes to doubt other people… She might even try to doubt the stars or fire, or that the sun does move…"

"Which it doesn't~"

"Ahaha, but science has no merits when pretty words are involved! And what science is more complicated than love and trust, and the bonds people people?"

"How true, how true~"

"And, in the end… Bern couldn't doubt her own love~ Kikiki~"

"Aaah, I'm glad this story had a happy ending!~"

"Me too~"

"We may be demons of 'love', and some people may believe we use our powers to toy with those in impossible relationships… and maybe that's true, maybe it is," said Zepar.

"We are fickle, love is fickle… How can we control such an emotion?" exclaimed Furfur dramatically.

Zepar smiled. "But… in some cases, there are people so broken they deserve happy endings… Just like Lady Bernkastel and Lady Lambdadelta. How could we, who take joy in seeing the seeds of love bloom into beautiful flowers, watch as that love is destroyed because two people are unable to express their feelings? It breaks my heart!"

"Those who love not wisely but too well will surely not be happy!~ They will not allow themselves to be happy!" said Furfur.

"All they needed a push in the right direction from us… And I'm glad we gave it to them, so we got to witness such a beautiful ending… Kikiki~"

"Aaah~ Tragedies are fine, but I love a fairytale 'happily ever after' too!~ It tastes sweeter to the tongue than any tea could, no matter how exquisitely brewed!"

"Nay, dear Furfur! Love _is_the delicious tea we seek to indulge in; it is our only pleasure in this world, just as roses need the rain to thrive and be healthy~ Compared to love, all food and drink in this world is bland!"

"How true, Zepar! How true!"

"The world is full of lovers-"

"-and those waiting to fall in love-"

"-so we will never die of thirst!"

"The well of our passions will never run dry!"

"Not when so much love exists in this world!"

"Aaaah- love is beautiful, love is divine!~ Can't you see it? Without love it cannot be seen- it definitely cannot be seen, you won't be able to see itttttt!"

"Kikikikikyahahahaha!~"

Furfur's eyes widened slightly, and they gently squeezed Zepar's hand.

"Ooh… And you know what?"

"What, dear Furfur?"

"I think another interesting romance story is about to unfold soon…~"

Zepar leant forwards, eyes widening to mirror Furfur's. "You don't mean… a story involving that poor, poor maid on Rokkenjima who wanted to be a witch?"

"Yes!~ Her prince has returned; didn't you hear it? Her prince has returned!"

"On a white horse?"

"Of course not~ But in a white suit… Kikikiki~"

"Aaah, how interesting… How very interesting… It sounds like another fun tea party for the connoisseurs of love will begin very shortly!"

"It really is a sad, pathetic story…"

"…an unrealized romance that blossomed too early…"

"…and a forgotten promise that broke a young girl's heart."

"How tragic, how tragic!"

"Hey…"

Furfur and Zepar turned around, eyes eerily empty… and smiled… It was impossible to know what they were looking at, or who they were talking to… But surely somebody would have heard them, would have seen them.

Maybe even more than one somebody.

So… they were addressing their speech… to all of those people.

"This really is a sad story of failed love, you know…"

"And this poor, poor princess has been dreaming for so long she even turned into a witch~"

"She wants somebody to listen to her, even if her words never reach that incompetent man."

"So… Won't you stay with us, in this demonic tea party… and listen to that story, too?"

"After all… what use is a story if nobody listens…?"

"Can you discover the heart of that poor child and find a solution for the murders?~ If you can't find her heart, you can't solve it; if you don't understand how powerful love is, you won't understand!"

"Is it a mystery story or a fantasy… Or is it a mystery that delves beyond closed rooms… and pokes around in the deepest, darkest recesses of the heart?"

"Do your best to solve it, okay…?~ She's counting on you!"

"Kikikikikiki…"

"Gyahahahahahahaha!~"

* * *

><p><strong>The End<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>an:** And… that's the end~  
>Actually, apart from the silent treatment thing, it wasn't that much like the prompt at all… I'm sorry ;A; But I tried my best!<br>So I hope it's good enough… and you enjoy it… ^_^;;

**~renahhchen****xoxo**


End file.
